Of Fallen Angels
by Lenny Carter
Summary: What had started out for Rae Fallen as teaching Criss Angel to control lightning had turned into an adventure the two of them would never forget. And as a bond forms between them, they're faced with challenges that will prove just what they are made of.
1. Prolouge

Chapter One

Meeting

"Good morning, Bonita Springs High! This is the last call for anyone wanting to be part of the intramural basketball team. If you would like to be on the basketball team, please turn in your permission slip. And as a special notice, many students have reported a man in a black leather jacket walking around the school. This is confirming that he _does_ have permission to be inside the school, so students have no reason to worry. His identity was not given, but he poses no threat and we ask that students to go on with their schedules if confronted. Thank you, and have a great day!"

"Well what's the point in that?" a young man said loudly. His long light brown hair fell into his sparkling green eyes. "He could be selling drugs!" he grinned. "I'd be happy to lighten his load!"

"Shut up, Shane," a girl named Carly said, glaring. She pushed her delicate glasses back onto the bridge of her nose. "But he could be right…what kind of idiots let a man in a black leather jacket into a high school? And they don't even know his name or why he's here."

"I was in the office when he came in!" a voice announced. Anna motioned everyone over, her almond eyes widened with excitement. As the queen of gossip, she always seemed to know what was going on in the school. "He's _gorgeous,_ for one, and really mysterious looking. Sort of gothic; ragged jeans, leather jacket, two really heavy chains—one with some weird logo—and long black hair, about Shane's length. I'm guessing he's in his mid-twenties, maybe younger."

"Sounds like my kind of guy," a voice said. Everyone turned to see Rae Fallen stride into the room, grinning mischievously. She handed the teacher a note and joined the crowd around Anna's desk, "Tall, dark and handsome alert!"

"The ladies at the front desk thought so too!" Anna gushed. "They couldn't take their eyes off him. He didn't say anything at first, just sort of stood of there for a while, smiling. It was sort of like he was used to it. Then Mr. Williams walked in and asked whose family he was."

"That'd be awkward," Shane commented, laughing. "To have the office ladies crushing on your brother."

"Can I finish?" Anna asked impatiently, crossing her arms. Shane threw up his hands in surrender, smiling. Anna scowled before continuing.

"Anyways, he said that he wasn't anyone's family; he said he was looking for someone." She stopped for a dramatic pause. "They asked for his name, and he smiled. 'I go by many names, but you can call me fallen.' I have absolutely _no_ idea what the hell what that meant, but suddenly Mr. Williams looked sort of dazed, like he was hypnotized or something. And he just let him go, right into the school!"

Rae's brow furrowed. "'I go by many names, but you can call me fallen…'" she murmured. _But that's _my _saying. Who the hell have I ever told that to?_

"I don't like the sound of him," a boy named Dakota said sourly, frowning.

"Aw, is little Dakota jealous?" Brianna laughed, nudging is stomach with her elbow, since she was too short to properly hit his ribs.

"Am not!" Dakota said quickly, "I don't even know the dude!" He glared down at Brianna.

Rae stood up. "I agree with Dakota…he sounds suspicious. Who's he looking for, and why?"

* * *

Okeday, so this wasn't very long...but they'll get longer, I promise! Review, please! 


	2. Chapter 1

_Dear Crissy,_

_You don't me calling you Crissy, do you? I suppose it is a bit rude seeing as we have never met. But I'd like to change that._

_You see, I had finished watching you're an episode of your show (which is amazing, by the way) the one named 'Tesla Coil.' You claimed that you wished to come here to Florida to be hit by a real, true lightning bolt. When I first heard the words fall from your lips, I immediately froze. _

_No!_

_There was absolutely no way I wanted you to come to Florida and commit suicide. But I did want to keep my faith in you, despite the fact I absolutely hated the idea. (Now I know how your family must feel, Criss.)_

_But I figured, hey why not? He's survived worse than this. And so now I wish to invite to stay during your visit at my home in Bonita Springs, Florida. We've entered hurricane season, and in the past season we were hit by a good few hurricanes. I live alone in a three story house, and I figured, 'hey, I'm lonely here. Why not have Criss and his gang stay here with me?' I'm only a quarter mile up the road from the Hyatt, and I'm sure that my house would be a good place for you to stay._

_In fact, I hold a job at the Hyatt and there was mention that a few people were dreading that you would pick the Hyatt as your temporary home. Heh. I think they're all afraid of you._

_But I have a great interest in magic myself. I often perform out on Fifth Avenue in North Naples for extra cash and my own enjoyment. I thought it'd be a good idea if you came here and helped me spread the magic._

_I hope with all my heart and soul that it's really you reading this letter, and I hope that you take into sincerity to at least think about it. You can reach me here so I can know your answer. 239-498-5139_

_Yours Truly,  
Rae Fallen _

_

* * *

_

A young magician (A/N: Give a guess on who it is...) reread the email several times, his brown eyes laughing at the girl who had sent him a request. Actually, it was more like a wish. Normally, he only reserved meeting fans one-on-one like that if they had a tragic past like Chad Juros or had won a contest. Most times it wasn't in his choice.

Criss Angel found himself unable to refuse this girl's invitation. It seemed heartfelt, and he was inspired by the idea of a girl street magician. Not many girls truly accepted magic enough to want to perform it even as a hobby, let alone a part-time job on the streets. And there was a charisma about her letter, and he was sure that she would prove to be a person who really wanted to open her home to him—not just for the sake of being able to brag to her friends.

"Hey, J.D…Tell me what you think of this…"

* * *

So, that should explain why Criss Angel is at Bonita Springs High, and who he's looking for. This should have been the prolouge, but the first chapter will be the intro, and this will be the real Chapter One. Review!


	3. Authors Note! Questions Answered!

Okeday, so I got a few questions about this so I'm going to answer them.

The most common:

1) How old is everybody?

Rae and her classmates are all seniors, about nineteen or eightteen years old. You can pick which age you like. Criss is - like as implied - around twenty-two years old. Okay, so exactly twenty-two years old. beams

2) Did you get Criss's appearance accurate to his age?

At first I didn't know what you meant. But then I sort of realized that I did change things around. Even though here Criss is only twenty two, it's to my understanding that I've made him look different than the way he did back then. Here, Criss looks the way he does right now. His hair falls to just beneath his shoulders, face still young-looking, good body swoons

3) If Criss Angel is in his mid-twenties, 'Tesla Coil' hadn't been made yet.

Yeah, yeah, I know... but in order for this to work, I need him to have done Tesla coil and still be this age. I know that I've screwed up his timeline. Here's how it's going: Criss has already done everything up to the Motorcycle Jump Vanish. He's still quite young, ofcourse, only twenty-two.

4) If Rae is still young enough to be in high school, how can she be living alone?

This get's explained next chapter when Criss asks Rae the same question.

5) Did Criss come to the school alone, or is he filming this or something?

He actually came with everyone, but they're chilling in the RV. He had decided not to tape it and keep it a secret so no scandals would rise about him or Rae.

okay, the rest of the questions I got were stupid or I knew they'd be answered shortly, soooooo...just stay tuned to see what happens next! Please review and tell me how I'm doing. I get private messages but only questions! I don't know if I should keep going or just stop! Please! Review!


	4. Chapter 2

Yay! Since I was totally surprised with my great number of reviews (only four, yeah. Hahaha, shut up) inspirationa and support drove me to write a new chapter! Hope you like it!

* * *

"Rae! Hey, Rae! Hey, _stupid!_"

Rae gritted her teeth and spun on her heel, glaring in the direction of Shane and Dakota. They grinned at her, not the least bit scared by her dangerous violet eyes. Most kids would shy away when her strange purple eyes shone like that, but they were so used to her playful scowls that they would simply laugh and tease her for even attempting to scare them that way.

"Have you only caused me loads of embarrassment by shouting 'stupid' across the courtyard of our high school so that you can waltz over here and harass me?" Rae asked sourly, punching Dakota on the arm with a small smile.

"We came over here to harass you, _and_—" Shane took a dramatic pause, green eyes glittering with excitement. "We have some dish on the Leather Jacket Guy!"

Rae grinned and sat down on a near by bench. "Did you pick out the name?" she asked sardonically, laughing.

Dakota plopped himself down beside her. "No, it's been anonymously decided," he threw back his head and laughed. "I think it suits, don't you?"

"So what's your gossip, boys?" Rae asked, "Make it quick, I'm hungry for lunch."

"Well, see this is what happened," Shane started, "Dakota, Erica Brining, and me we're running through the hallways, cause we were late for fifth period, so we turned around a corner—"

"And we smacked right into him!" Dakota interrupted. "It hurt, too. The guy's not that big, but he's strong. So we're scrambling to our feet, saying we're sorry, and Erica suddenly starts hyperventilating."

Rae raised an eyebrow. Erica had been her one of her closest friends since kindergarten and she couldn't name anything that would make the Gothic girl start panicking.

"Imagine a super-crazed fan girl meeting Johnny Depp," Shane suggested, laughing. "She kept squeaking and stuttering 'Y-you're…y-you're…"

"Then she fainted!" Dakota shouted, jumping to his feet with excitement. A few students passing by stared at him strangely before hurrying on to buy their lunch. Rae pulled him back angrily, ordering him to calm down.

"So the Leather Jacket Guy starts _laughing_!" Shane said in a hushed tone of voice. "It's almost as if he expected it to happen. He actually bent down and picked her up like it was nothing and asked us to direct him to the clinic, so she could lie down! We told him it was by the office, and he just struts off with Erica, calling thanks over his shoulder."

Rae looked off thoughtfully. _This guy really is extravagant. Who could make Erica fain— Oh. My. God._

"Holy shit," Rae whispered. She stuck her knuckles in her mouth to keep herself from screaming on the top of her lungs. _He's here! He's really freakin' here!_

If Dakota or Shane noticed Rae's sudden quietness, they made no move to acknowledge it. Dakota was too busy laughing at Shane, who was too busy impersonating Erica's now legendary pass-out.

"L-let's go to lunch, guys." Rae said softly, slipping her knuckles out of her teeth's grip.

"Sure!" Shane said happily, resuming his frantic bouncing of hyper-ness. He enthusiastically swept a ten dollar bill from his pocket and displayed it in front of the two proudly. "I'll buy today!" he sang. "I'm in a very giving mood!"

Rae grinned mischievously as she threw her brown jacket over her right shoulder. (A/N: Yeah…that's how ghetto people where their jackets—you only wear it on one shoulder! Then you look like Cloud from FF7! Go Cloud!) "You wanna see something awesome, Shane?"

Shane closed his hand over his bill protectively. "What are you gonna do?" he asked suspiciously, his eyes narrowing.

"Watch… I'll show you something crazy." (A/N: Which is a standard magician 'spectator-assistant-audience' attention grabber phrase) Rae furrowed her brow and held her hand over his, her dark wine eyes zoning in with concentration. The crumpled bill seemed to twitch, and Dakota's and Shane's eyes widened. Very slowly, the bill unwrinkled itself and lay flat on Shane's palm.

"That was so freaky!" Dakota cheered, rubbing his arms. "I swear, it gives me goosebumps when you do that stuff!" By this time, a few students had wandered over and were watching with amazement.

"Wait…I'm not finished yet," Rae said quietly. Her fingers quivered over the ten-dollar piece, and it began to stand itself up, the stern face on the front staring at the two bewildered boys from the side. Rae waved her hand over the money, and suddenly it had disappeared. Cheers erupted from the small crowd, and Rae was pummeled with regular questions: "How the hell did you do that?"

"So where's my money?" Shane asked, earning a few laughs.

"C'mon, let's go to lunch—I'll buy."

* * *

A long-haired young man watched the girl perform from his spot behind a pillar that lie on the other side of the courtyard. His dark eyes sparkled with amusement as he watched her dazzle a small audience that witnessed a bill magically unfold and rise on it's own.

_Quit moving girl—my feet are getting tired from chasing you all day._

_

* * *

_

I know, I'm sorry for the shortness, but it's the best I could do. I wanted to update ASAP! Please review, and don't worry, the chapters will get longer!


	5. Chapter 3

Okay, I must say that I'm very happy with my story so far. I've gotten 170 hits as of October 29, 2006 since I began—5 reviews (and thank you to all who did and gave me your opinions) and about 13 private messages! I must be doing something right here! ;-)

I'm seriously not meaning to brag, but I'm just so happy! 'Cause I mean, everybody loves Criss Angel (naturally) but not everyone writes a fanfiction! I wonder if we got enough fanfictions for Criss, they'd give us a MindFreak category? That'd be cool! And people who do write a fic, they're not always popular.

Omigod, that sounds mean. I meant, the ones I've read are all good and everything—I read this one called 'Flee' that's really good, but I haven't seen an update in a while and I hope they update soon (if you're reading this, please upload a new chapter!) – but like, a lot of CrissFics (that's what I call them) tend to fizzle out so I'm totally determined to look this thing through!

I've never finished a fanfiction before—I'm pathetic, I know. So perseverance is now officially my motto! And as a heads up, I may be changing my penname, so don't get confused! On with the story!

* * *

Chapter One  
At Last

"Rae, you're not going anorexic on us, are you?" Dakota joked.

"Huh?" Rae lifted up her head and laid her fork down on the lunch table. She had been poking at what was supposed to be macaroni and cheese (it looked more similar to a chunk of unusually brown noodles) for the last ten minutes of lunch, staring absently into space.

"You haven't even touched your food," Carly said.

Rae grinned at her and poked at the entrée again. "Do you _want_ me to die?" She plucked the green apple off of her tray and threw the rest in the garbage. "I'll eat during Food Prep or something." She took a bite from the apple. "I really need to start making my own bento again."

"Make me some!" Ben chirped. "I love those little things that look like folded over ears!"

"Pot stickers?" Dakota mused.

"Gyoza!" Rae corrected, pushing her friend off of the lunch table. He landed on the ground, shaking his head of brown hair. "You guys are so politically incorrect."

"Screw politics!" Shane cheered. "Bush is a nutjob!" (A/N: This has nothing to do with anything, but we read this in a history book, 'cause we're studying Colombia and we were talking abut drugs. George W. Bush once said, "The main reason illegal drugs are being shipped in the U.S is because U.S citizens are using drugs…" Uh, DUH! We laughed forever…it was so funny…)

"Japanese rule my life!" Dakota laughed, shoving Shane out of his spot ("Whoa!") and plopping himself back down.

_RIIIIINNNNNNGGGG!_

"Time to go!" Brianna darted off, waving goodbye. Everyone exchanged handshakes and goodbyes before running to their next classes. Rae was the only one who walked slowly, since she had Guidance Aide next and wasn't in a hurry. She never had anything else to do, anyway…

"I need something to do," she said wistfully, scudding her foot on the ground. She thought about her Criss problem. _What qould happen if someone recognizes him? Ugh, I'd have to hide him at my house. And he picked a hell of a good time to show up… my house is a pigsty! _

Suddenly, two arms shot out from behind a pillar and grabbed hers, holding them behind her back. "I need you to do me a favor," a man's voice said quietly.

Rae, naturally, went into instinct mode. She stepped on the man's foot, elbowed his stomach, and deftly grabbed his wrist and flipped him over her back. _Those years of brutal training really do pay off…_

The man moaned and swore, quite loudly and colorfully. "It was a joke!" he grumbled, rolling over onto his stomach and lifting himself up. Rae's hands flew to her mouth in surprise as she recognized him. "Omigod…I just broke Criss Angel!"

* * *

"I. Am. So. Sorry!" Rae kneeled next to the magician, mumbling apologies. "I didn't know it was you because, you know, there's psychos out there, and I took karate and kung fu for a long time and it was instinct and I thought you were a rapist or something…Omigod, are you okay?"

Criss staggered to his feet and brushed himself off. "No harm, no foul," he said with a grin, running his hand through the soft tangles of his hair. "Jeez, that really hurt."

"I know, I know, I'm so sorry!" Rae blushed like crazy. "I didn't mean to, I didn't know it was you!"

_Quit stuttering and muttering like an idiot and introduce yourself._

Rae shook herself and held out her hand. "I'm Rae Fallen," she said sheepishly. "Some people call me Rae-chan."

"Cool, pleasure to meet you," Criss took her hand with a smile. "Is this your last hour?"

"Um, yeah it is. I'll just check in with my counselor and then I can show you the way to my house." Rae studied Criss quickly before tossing him her jacket. "Here put this on—it should fit okay, it's big on me. Throw the hood."

Criss cocked his head curiously but obeyed. They exchanged jackets and he slid on hers—it was slightly tight but fit him nonetheless. "I don't want her to see your face; you'll see why when we get there."

"Konnichiwa, Miss Saki!" (A/N: "Sah-kee") Rae smiled at her guidance counselor. "How's it?"

"Hajimemashite and konnichiwa, Rae-chan!" Miss Saki stood up and hugged Rae, squeezing her like a long lost family member. "It feels like forever since I last saw you!"

"I saw you yesterday, Miss Saki."

"Oh, it always feels like a lifetime to me!" Miss Saki crowed, clutching Rae tighter. Criss hesitantly stepped into the office, looking around in amazement. Posters of Japanese manga clashed with posters of Pirates of the Caribbean, and kanji symbols littered the walls. Criss immediately stuffed his necklaces beneath his shirt when he saw an entire wall dedicated to him—his A and backwards C painted on sheets of large paper, and a few posters of his surreal family and one of him in during 'Buried Alive.'

"Rae-chan, who's your friend?" Miss Saki turned toward Criss, who back away precariously.

"Uh…it's…um…Zuko!" Rae said quickly.

"Oh, Zuko-kun! I couldn't recognize you with the hood on! How's it going? Did you get the new guitar you wanted?"

Criss blanched. "Uh, yeah?" he tried, shrugging casually.

"Good, good…my, you've gotten taller. Rae-chan, where are you two going?"

"We're leaving early to go get ready for the concert tonight!" Rae said, "He's coming over to pick up the equipment and stuff."

"Okay, then, Rae-chan. Sayonara!" Miss Saki waved them goodbye. "Oh, Rae-chan! Could you record Criss Angel for me and give me a tape?"

Rae snorted at the irony. "Hai, Miss Saki! Sayonara!"

"She's…eccentric." Criss mused when they were out of earshot. "Who's Zuko?"

"My friend…he looks just like you, so she wouldn't have been able to tell." Rae swapped jackets with him and slung hers back over her shoulder. (A/N: In the cool way!)

"But I'm sure he's not as good-looking as me, right?" Criss joked.

"Of course not!" Rae laughed. _He's fun. He's not stuck up at all…_ "He's got a band, though. That's a good dosage of kudos right there." Rae looked around. "How'd you get here, anyway?"

"R.V and a few choppers," Criss said dismissively. "We can follow you in your car."

"Oh I don't have a car," Rae said absently, looking around for the R.V. "I've got a bike."

Criss suddenly snorted in laughter, bending over. "What?" Rae asked.

"You ride a bike?" Criss howled, slapping his knee. "Ugh, I'm sorry… I've just never met a senior who still rode a bike!"

Rae put her hands on her hips and frowned. "Well, it's not a chopper, but it's not that different."

"There's big difference!" Criss chuckled, wiping his eyes. "You can hitch the bike to the back of the R.V and we'll just drive you."

"What are you talking about?" Rae asked, confused.

Criss crooked an eyebrow. "What are _you_ talking about?"

* * *

"Oh…_that_ kind of bike."

Criss watched in amazement as Rae slung her leg over a black and white motorbike that was brazened with a strange looking logo. It looked like an R and F weaved together.

Rae grinned and piled her hair up beneath a helmet. "It's just down Coconut Road, in Meadowbrook. Unfortunately, it's a gated community with a ton of old people, so I get yelled at a lot for my baby." Rae patted her bike lovingly.

"I guess they won't like us very much then, either." Criss laughed, "MF2 really knows how to rip up a place, right?"

"Mehk, who cares? They can't kick me out anyway." The motor roared to life. "Just follow me, cause it's a big neighborhood."

* * *

Short again, yes, but what can a muse-starved girl do? Please review!


	6. Chapter 4

Chapter Two  
Magick

"ACK! J.D, YOU ARE TOTALLY CHEATING!"

"AM NOT! MY FOOT CAN STAY WHERE IT LIKES!"

"NOT IN MY FACE, IT CAN'T!!!!"

"GUYS, BE A LITTLE MORE SANITARY, HERE!"

"YOU'RE ONE TO TALK, DAMMIT!"

"There's no need for screaming," Dave said lazily, holding his fingers to his ears. "Try and at least _act_ like adults, here."

"YOU'RE JUST SAYING THAT CAUSE _YOOOOUUUU_ MESSED UP A HUNDRED TIMES! HA!"

Rae laughed richly with Criss and Costa as they watched the events in the living room, which had currently been turned into a war zone. Leif, J.D, and Luke were all playing DDRMax—it had become their goal in life to get an A on the hardest one, _Maxx Unlimited_.

"I DID IT! I BEAT TSUGARU!!! MUAHAHA, IN YA FACE!!!"

"I'm going to go make dinner," Rae chuckled, running her hand through her hair. "Please don't murder each other while I'm not watching, alright?"

"I'll follow you," Criss said quickly, running after her. When they were out of earshot, he explained, "Sugar overdose plus Dance Dance Revolution equals certain death."

Rae tossed cans and boxes at Criss over her shoulder; she hummed contently to herself as she rummaged her pantry, dancing around Criss who now held a mountain of food in his arms. "Can you cook?" she asked, adding a box of chicken broth to the pile with a grin.

"Not at all," Criss admitted, struggling to regain his balance under the weight of the boxes. "Do we _really_ need this much damn food?"

"Uh, hello? Nearly fifteen men and one woman. You should be happy I'm cooking for you guys at all and not making you go grab Burger King to live off of." Rae raised her eyebrow at Criss while she sharpened a rather large…_dangerous_ looking knife.

"I've been living off Burger King for nearly five years, babe." Criss joked, carefully letting a few cans slide off of the mountain and onto the kitchen counter. Rae raised her eyebrow in disbelief, looking him up and down.

"You could have never kept your body looking like _that_ by living off of fast-food for a half a decade." Rae opened a can of diced tomatoes and bent down to find a pot.

"Cardio and kick-boxing can do wonders, Rae." Criss blinked and his grin suddenly grew wider. "So you _do_ look at my body, don't ya?"

Rae scowled at him and poked him in the stomach, causing him to lose his grip on the food. Boxes and cans fell to the ground with a large clatter, one especially large can landing on his big toe.

"Pick those up," Rae ordered without turning to look at him, though it was clearly evident that she was trying to keep the laughter out of her voice.

"Bossy, bossy," Criss muttered, scooping the boxes up and piling them into a pyramid on the counter. "What are we eating, anyway?"

"No clue," Rae replied, chopping up some asparagus. "But whatever it is, it'll be healthier than Burger King."

* * *

"You know, this is pretty good, Rae," Banachek commented, swallowing another bite of yellowtail. "What is all of this?"

"Japanese. Buridaikon, yakitori, misoshiro soup, fried rice, delicioso sushi, and some gyoza—my specialty."

"There's something in here that included minced pork too…the freakin' can landed on my toe." Criss searched through the plates of food with his chopsticks—he, Rae, J.D and Costa were the only ones who put any effort into using them. (Johnny had given up and in a fit of anger made his chopsticks disappear, much to Rae's amusement.)

"Are we gonna eat like this every night?" George asked excitedly, rubbing his hands together in gluttony. "Cause this stuff is damn good. I haven't eaten like this in forever and a half."

"Sure, if you guys can give me money for groceries every night—this meal was pretty much half of my pantry."

"Seriously?" Costa asked softly, suddenly looking rather guilty about eating. Rae laughed, tempted to hug Costa.

"It's fine Costa…you don't have to be so sweet, I can afford it. I was just joking, okay?" Her words still didn't coax Costa into eating. He offered his plate to George, who accepted it whole-heartedly.

Later, while they scrubbed the dishes, J.D leaned over and said quietly, "Are you just lying, Rae? I didn't think about how expensive this would be for you—if you need money, we can always—"

Rae smiled, patting J.D's shoulder consolingly. "It's truly fine, J.D; Social Services pays for everything—the bills, my house…I have more the enough money to spend on food."

J.D nodded, but he still looked unconvinced. "Alright, Rae…but just in case the time comes, don't be afraid."

"Alright, J. You go get some sleep—you have to wake up earlier than me, anyway." She smiled again and J.D nodded, yawning and shuffling away to his room.

When the dishes were done, Rae snuck back into her room that she had given up to Johnny. She went through her closet and found her old music box, a blanket and pillow, and her ocarina.

"Having a private concert are we?"

Rae nearly jumped out of her skin as a voice surprised her. She spun on her heel and saw Criss, laughing silently to himself at her shock. "I sing to the wolves and panthers on full moons," she replied without thinking. She mentally slapped herself on the forehead. _He's gonna think I'm crazy…_

"Hmm…Can I watch?"

Rae was quiet for a moment. "Yeah, fine…but you can't make any noise, okay?"

"Mums the word," Criss agreed, following her out onto the widows walk. The two leaned against the railing, and Rae grabbed her ocarina and gently blew, a haunting melody floating into the evening air. Criss watched in amazement as a black panther slunk out of the woods, followed by three wolves and a bobcat. The young magician waited for the animals to start growling at one another, but nothing happened—the animals only sat or lay down, soothed by the song.

_I heard there was a secret chord,  
__That David played and it pleased the Lord,  
__You don't really care for music, do you?  
__  
It goes like this; the fourth, the fifth,  
__The minor fall, the major lift,  
__The baffled king composing Hallelujah._

Criss felt his eyelids growing heavy…what she was singing, he didn't know. But somehow, he understood and it made him feel warm and content.

_Hallelujah,  
Hallelujah,  
Hallelujah,  
Halle-lu-jah…_

_Well, your faith was strong but you needed proof,  
You saw her bathing on the roof,  
Her beauty in the moonlight overthrew you. _

She tied you to a kitchen chair,  
She broke your throne and cut your hair,  
And from your lips she drew Hallelujah.

By now, Criss had nearly completely fallen asleep. "It seems like you have some magic in ya, Rae." Then everything faded to black.

Rae carefully caught Criss before he hit the ground and dragged him over to the bench. She laid him down and covered him the blanket, shaking her head with a grin.

_More than you know, Criss…_

_

* * *

_

Yay! Everyone's getting close now! We're one big happy family!

Hee hee. Criss passed out. how embaressing...

What's even more embaressing is that I spelled _embarrassing_ wrong!

Review please!!!


	7. Chapter 5

I am so so so soooo sorry for making you guys wait so long for my update! I haven't worked on it, for like, forvever and a half! Lately, I've been writing mostly for 'Swimming Vaporetti.' If your a 'Thief Lord,' fan then you might wanna check it out. Naturally, Miss Rae Fallen is a character in there too...

Also, fans of 'Man vs. Wild' can check out 'African Savanna,' where I put poor Bear Grylls through a ton of shit with Rae Fallen. (she's just everywhere, isn't she?)

Kick back and enjoy Chapter...uh...something. (too lazy to check)

* * *

"I CANNOT BELIEVE THIS!!! STUPID, IDIOTIC, RETARDED—" 

"What is she screaming about?" J.D yawned, shuffling into the kitchen. Criss glanced up from where he was scrambling eggs (in jacket, which made him look ridiculous, but he had insisted that it was cold in the house. Rae wouldn't let him touch the Thermostat because she knew he'd turn it up to 100 degrees, since he was used to what was practically desert climate.)

"I don't know," Criss groaned, tossing the spatula into the sink and wiping his hands with a rag. "I think something's up with her bike. I would help, but I'm afraid she'll throw a wrench at my head if I even try."

"DAH! I HATE THIS DAMN BIKE!" There was a clang of metal. "OWW!! MY FOOT!!! CRAP!!"

Costa walked in, rubbing his eyes. "What the heck?" he looked to Criss, who simply shrugged and asked his brother if he wanted any eggs.

They heard the door open then slam shut, and Rae trudged in, black smeared across one cheek. Her amethyst eyes were glued to the ground in stony embarrassment.

"I need a ride," she said muttered sheepishly, her voice barely audible. She scuffed the kitchen floor with a black Converse sneaker. Criss folded his arms over his chest and smirked.

"Excuse me? What was that?"

"I need a ride," Rae hissed.

"I'm sorry, but I can't hea—"

"Criss, dammit, I need a ride!" Rae stamped her foot onto the floor and glared at the young magician, who was grinning.

"I heard you the first time, but you're just so cute when you're angry."

Rae seemed to practically steam in anger as she glowered at Criss. "Would you mind?" she snapped. "I have to be at my homeroom in, like, ten minutes."

Criss shook his head and snatched his keys off of the counter, sauntering past her into the garage. "We're taking MF2, sweetheart," he drawled, his eyes sparkling with adventure.

"What?! Hell no! You do realize there are about thirty Criss Angel groupies at my school, right?"

"Groupies? Mm…sounds nice."

"Eww, don't be perverted. One of them is bound to recognize your bike."

"Pfft, how?"

"Maybe 'cause it says CRISS ANGEL and MF2 and has your insignia all over it?" Rae complained loudly.

"Well, we have a few options here. One: You walk to school."

"No way."

"Two: I drive you, but you're late so no one is standing out front and recognizes my bike."

Rae bit her lip and tugged on her earring. "Do we have a third option?"

"Yes."

Rae looked hopeful.

"That would be 'risk the groupies.'"

A loud sigh. "Shit."

* * *

"If you pop a wheelie, I'll scream bloody murder," Rae warned as she swung her leg over the chopper, tucking her long dark hair beneath her helmet. 

"Fine, fine…you know, I should pretend to be your boyfriend—it'll make your little friends jealous as hell!" Criss grinned mischievously at her. "We'll have to make it convincing." He slipped Rae's arms around his waist and patted her hands in approval. "Comfy?"

"Ugh, no way," Rae kicked him and unwound her arms. "Just 'cause you said that, I'm not touching you at all."

Criss shrugged. "Alright then, your loss." He gunned the throttle, making the cycle roar. Rae squeaked and hugged his waist quickly, fearing being thrown off. He chuckled, turning to smirk at her.

"Now, isn't that better?"

"Shut up."

Criss pulled into the school barely ten minutes later, stopping right in front of the flagpole where teenagers milled around, waiting for the first bell to ring. Rae slid off and took off her helmet, her long hair falling over her shoulders. She handed the helmet back to Criss, who quickly grabbed her wrist and pulled their faces close.

"How about you give a reward to your knight in shining leather, who gave you a ride on his fiery steed?" He gazed at her with half-lidded eyes, his breath on her mouth. Rae yanked herself away before she gave in to temptation, slapping the dark-eyed youth across his shoulder. He simply grinned, watching her walk up to her school.

"Hey, Rae!" Melody Shipman, one of Rae's closest friends since Pre-K, chirped as she ran up to her.

Rae groaned and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Why must you be a morning person, Mel?" Melody smiled, but her attention was quickly caught by the man on the bike, who was still intently watching Rae.

"Who's that? He's staring at you."

"Huh?" Rae spun on her heel, and sure enough, Criss was still grinning in her direction. _Shit, Criss…get your ass out of here._

"Have you ever introduced me to him before?" Melody said slowly, stepping around Rae.

"No!" Rae said quickly. Melody arched her eyebrows. A plan formed in her head. "I mean, it's just Zuk—"

"Is that MF2?!" Melody shrieked, gesturing toward a group of girl who were sitting on the brick benches around the flagpole. "Guys, come here!"

Rae took off for Criss, waving her arms frantically. In a flash, she had thrown her self back on the bike. "Go!" she screamed in panic, hitting his back with her fist. Criss, bewildered, acted instinctively like a spooked horse and took off, his wheels screeching on the road.

* * *

"Okay, so this may be a problem." Dave rubbed the back of his neck as he paced in Rae's living room. Rae was curled up on the couch, drawing idly in her sketchbook. Criss sat beside her, twiddling his thumbs in thought. "But we can fix it, right?" 

"Don't even bother," Rae said miserably, frowning as her pencil broke. She looked ready to cry as she observed it as though it were some horrible omen. "I don't really need to go to school. I've already graduated college."

"What?" J. D nearly spat out the coffee he had been drinking. He hadn't even finished breakfast yet when Criss and Rae had burst back through the door, looking as if they had been running from demented demons—which wasn't much of an exaggeration, according to Rae.

"I graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Art when I was fifteen," Rae said numbly, dropping her book and useless pencil on the ground. "I would have continued to get a Masters and another Bachelors Degree in Education, but Dramlaya insisted that I go back to high school and be with kids my age."

"Dramlaya?" Banachek asked, looking confused.

"My foster mother," Rae said absently, toying with the laces of her shoes. "She lives in Osaka now…Japan."

Criss faintly wondered if Rae was Japanese… She sure didn't look Japanese…

"So it's really fine. I'll call in saying I'm flying to see her for a week or something and the school will excuse my absences." Rae took a deep breath and smiled at them. "I truly don't mind missing school—I'd be missing all the excitement here."

* * *

Too short! Agh!!!! (pulls out hair) I'm sorry it was so miniscule, but I wanted to update ASAP, and that was the best I could do in an hour. My life smells...

Oh, yeah! This chapter is dedicated to Melody Shipman, my totally awesome friend whom I have dragged onto FanFiction! (I've dragged on four people now...I have an army!!! Woot! Check out **Tamer of Confusion, Sohma Ritsu, and Apprentice Dangerous Grace**! My buddies!!) She and I are big Criss fanatics...she inisted that I include her somehwere, since I was including everyone else! Yes, I used the names and personalities of my real friends cause I'm too lazy to create my own. XP And understand, Rae is NOT me!! She's from my original story, the actual 'Of Fallen Angels.'

If you want to read it, check it out on my FictionPress account. Captain Jackie Lovely, yo! See you before Christmas, guaranteed!!


	8. Chapter 6

**_Chapter...uhh...I think this if four or five. -once again, too lazy to check!-_**

While Rae mopped up the spilled coffee, Criss and the others went into 'make-a-great-show' mode.

"This could be a problem, too." Dave started pacing again. "Rae, how long has it been since your last storm?"

"We had Category 1 hurricane about two and half weeks ago." Rae replied, wringing the mop out in her sink. "There's activity in the Atlantic, supposedly, but it shouldn't grow or even get close to us until another week."

"A week?" Criss whined, playing with his necklace. "What the hell am I supposed to do for a whole week?"

"We could go down to Fifth Avenue in Naples," J.D suggested. "There's bound to be people there, right?"

Rae snorted, earning herself a few glares. "No offense, boys, but I highly doubt that you could get some rich snob in Fifth Avenue to pay attention to you. You really don't know how they work, do ya? This isn't Vegas—there are no maniacs around there, and there aren't any obsessive fans."

Criss sighed loudly. "Where are the hot spots in this town, Rae?"

Rae grinned and wiggled herself between Criss and Costa. "Coconut Point Mall would be your best bet. Usually a ton of teens, mostly, girls—"

Criss nodded.

"But you'd have to wait 'til six—no one arrives before then. It's like an unwritten rule."

Criss glanced at his watch. "Nine hours?" he moaned, banging his forehead into his palm. "Nine whole hours?"

"Why don't we just go somewhere?" Rae said, standing up. "I'd like you guys to meet a couple of friends of mine. I think they'd like to get a chance to see you--"

* * *

"Hey, Zuko! Johnny! Open up, guys, I've got a friend you'd like to meet."

Rae banged hard on the front door of a beach house, putting her fist on her hip in a sassy way that made Criss smile to himself. "I know you're in there, guys, c'mon!"

"Shouldn't you be in school?" a voice came through the door, slightly muffled. Criss could hear some music playing and some happy shouts.

"Shouldn't you be at work?" Rae retorted.

There was silence for a moment. "This is true."

"Good, then let me in and I won't call your boss."

The door swung open and Criss froze. _Holy shit…_

Two brown eyes shone with a quiet intensity that made Criss feel like he couldn't breathe. Not so much that they were sad, or angry—just powerful. Framed by long black eyelashes, they flickered quickly over his face before they switched over to Rae.

"He looks like me," the boy said bluntly, pointing at the rather shocked magician. In fact, they did look incredibly alike—same soft looking, web of dark hair, same strong nose, and same brown eyes; although Criss was quite sure that this kids stare could give him a run for his money. They were even nearly the same size—although Criss was wider at the shoulders and just a bit shorter.

A new boy appeared by the others side, his eyes a dark-honey gold and twice as bright. His hair was jet black and wavy, and his chocolate skin absolutely screamed 'Indian.' "Criss!" he exclaimed. "Ah, pleasure to meet you!" He grabbed Criss hand and gave it a hearty shake.

"So, Criss, this is Johnny Ali Delaney," Rae laughed, putting her arm around the Indian boys neck. "And this look-a-like over here is Zuko."

Criss thought it was rather strange that she didn't say his full name, but he shook Zuko's hand. "Pleasure to meet you," Zuko said silkily, his lips turning up in a charming grin.

"So, who else is here?" Rae asked, peering through the door. She eyed Zuko's hand, which held a set of keys. "And where were you going?"

"Actually, I was going to go get you—I didn't know you had a guest."

"We have a surprise for you!" Johnny crowed, pulling Rae indoors. Zuko chuckled and followed them, turning and gesturing Criss to come inside. Johnny covered Rae's eyes, and Zuko held her shoulders and led her to the living room. "A couple kids flew across a pond to come and see you."

"A pond?" Rae questioned, laughing. "Who are they, geese?"

"I am not a goose!" a boy appeared, speaking with a British accent. His hair was blue-black and in large curls that fell just past his ear. His eyes were an icy blue, and they sparkled like glittering water.

Rae gasped and Johnny let his hands drop. "Nigel!" she cried, hugging the boy tightly. "What are you doing here? Is Peter here, too?"

"We came to be on time for your birthday!" Nigel explained, pushing a stray curl behind his ear. "And Peter's upstairs, playing Kingdom Hearts."

"He still hasn't beaten that damned thing?" Rae said exasperatedly, quickly skipping up the stairs. There was a loud bang and a surprised "Rae?" followed by a shout of "Hiya, Peter!" and a loud _boom!_

"Would you like something to eat, Criss?" Johnny asked, holding out a bag of chips and sucking down a soda. Criss blinked in surprise.

"Uh, no thanks."

A moment later, a tall blonde boy came staggering down the stairs, with Rae latched tightly on his back. She was beaming from ear to ear as the boy grunted. "You've gotten bigger," she sang, holding out her hand next to the boy's forehead. "You used to be this tall."

"Why did you let this demon come and attack me?" the boy whined, glaring at Nigel and Zuko. His eyes wandered over to Criss, and he started laughing.

"You actually got him to come here?"

"Yup!" Rae jumped down and smoothed her ruffled shirt, putting her hands on her hips proudly. "I thought you all would like to meet him. Criss, this is Peter—he and Nigel live in Chichester, England." Rae suddenly squeaked quite loudly, sounding like a microphone's feedback. "Do you have what I asked for?"

"Ah, even better!" Nigel pulled a slip of paper from his pocket and dangled it in front of her face. "He got a certain friend of his to sign it also!"

Rae shrieked again. "Who?!" She dove for Nigel, who quickly pressed the note into Zuko's hand.

"Calm down or it doesn't come back!" Zuko ordered, flicking his fingers in the air—to Criss' surprise, the paper had disappeared. Rae, however, didn't seem one bit amused.

"Hand it over, Zuk." (A/N: Pronounced "Zook")

"You gotta pay me first," Nigel drawled, lighting up a cigarette. Rae smiled sinisterly, pushing up her sleeves. She reached for Nigel's head, touching his ear. "You had something sticking out—" She explained slyly, and between her fingers the note appeared.

"Hey!" Zuko shouted, patting his sleeves. "What the hell?"

"Muahaha!" Rae cackled, running behind Criss. She screamed like a deranged fan-girl. "SWEET!! AARON SIGNED IT, TOO?!"

Nigel took a puff of his cigarette. "I talked to the two of 'em for a while—their some cool kids. Rollo's a really good skateboarder—he showed me a damned good 360."

"I love you!" Rae cheered, hugging Nigel and Peter. She hastily stuffed the paper in her back pocket. "Now I'm hyper!"

"I can tell," Criss laughed, speaking for the first time. He noticed the guitar sitting in the corner. "So…who's the musician?"

Everyone shot him a curious look.

"Well, I know Rae and Zuko are magicians, but who are the musicians?"

* * *

"Have fun?" Rae asked a few hours later as the two watched T.V back at Rae's house. Criss flipped the channel onto, 'Man vs. Wild.'

"Whose house was that, actually?"

"Zuko lives alone," Rae answered. "We met a few years ago at a summer camp."

"So, you two went out, or something?"

"Oh, hell no!" Rae laughed as if Criss had just told the funniest joke ever. "No, never. See, I met Nigel when I first moved here. He, Peter, and these couple of other kids were hanging out in the woods over there. We became friends, we even started a band. Nigel introduced me to Johnny, and two years later I met Zuko at a summer camp. He's really shy—he made up a name to get me to talk to him."

"What was his name?"

"Squall Angel-Zuko. He picked Squall because he's from Kingdom Hearts, which I love. Angel, probably from you because you look alike, and Zuko—I don't know, I'm not too sure. He told me a few months ago he had lied to get me to like him, but I still call him Zuko because I don't think anything else would be the same." Rae looked at the digital clock on the T.V. "It's almost six—you still want to go to the mall?"

"Nah—I'm really tired."

"Okay, well, I've got to go get ready."

Criss sat up and grinned. "Ready for what? A _date_, maybe?"

Rae tapped his nose lightly with her finger. "And appointment, thank you very much."

* * *

Okay, I was going to combine this chapter with the next, but the next chapter is really serious and this one is more playful, so I decided not to. And yes, Zuko is a really person, although he's only fifteen. He does look _extremely_ similar to Criss, and he shows up a lot here. Johnny, Nigel, and Peter are also my real friends, they're some cool guys.

Please review!!!


	9. Chapter Half way to 7

Okay, this is a teaser chapter, sort of. Truthfully, I hit a writers block so I just decided to post this as a sort of preview, becuase the next chapter is going to be SUPER SUPER SUPER long...or at least, by my standards.

* * *

**_Teaser Chapter_**

_Coffee…_ Coffee sounded good to Criss as he stumbled down the hall, his hands tracing along the walls for support. Coffee always put him to sleep—that may not have been its original purpose, but that was its purpose to him. He faintly wondered if Rae had come home yet. A glance at an old clock on the wall of the hallway told him that it was 12:47 at night, and he immediately went into protective mode. _She better be back…_

He heard a whimper come from the kitchen, followed by the squeak of scudding shoes and a quiet moan. Criss snuck silently, peering around the corner. He felt his bare foot step in something wet and warm, and he looked down with a gasp.

Blood; A whole trail of blood leading from the garage into the kitchen.

"Rae?" he whispered, his stomach knotting worriedly.

"Criss?" he heard Rae's voice come from the kitchen. He took another step, but she spoke again. "No, Criss! Go back to bed."

"Rae, what—"

Her voice took on a firm, angry tone. "Criss, listen to me. Don't come in here, and don't look at me. _Go back to bed, now_."

Criss stopped in his tracks. Something in her voice was convincing, hypnotic; he blinked furiously, shaking his head. Being a master of hypnotism himself, he was naturally immune to any attempts people tried on him. "Rae, what's the matter?" He heard her take a sharp intake of breath and she hissed loudly.

Criss carefully stepped into the kitchen, making sure not to step in any more blood. Rae stood at the counter, her back facing him. He could see blood dripping off of her—wings?! Rae swayed dangerously, looking faint.

"Rae!" Criss shouted, leaping forward and catching her before she fell. He gently laid her down on the ground, quickly peeling off the black jacket she wore. She looked up at him with a weary smile, her eyes glazed over.

"So…I have something important to tell you, Criss."

"Yeah, no shit," Criss whispered, his eyes wide with shock. "You, you have w—"

"Wings? Oh, yeah, well, one of them is sprained, I think. Can you get me some ice for it?"

Criss blinked before he staggered to his feet, quickly grabbing a plastic bag and filling it with ice and water from the freezer. He kneeled back down next to her. "Which one?" Although it was quite obvious, seeing as one of the jet-black wings was bent at an odd angle. The right one fluttered slightly, like a bird that was attempting to get airborne.

"Left. I need you to grab me the phone, so I can call my friend."

"Who, Zuko? Does he know about this?"

"No, he doesn't, and I think it'd be better off if it stayed that way. Criss, just please get me the phone." She squeezed her eyes hut and grasped her heart in pain. Tears began to course down her cheeks and she touched the back of her head, pulling her hand away to reveal more crimson blood.

Criss ran for the phone before he stopped. He turned back to look at her curled up on the ground, her strange black wings furled around her. "Rae?" he asked softly, his brown eyes pricking with tears. "Are you an angel?"

Rae sighed, closing her eyes. "No, Criss…I'm not an angel."

* * *

Yeah, so, now that I read over it, it seems pretty damned lame. Agh, I can't think of anything right now! I'll that's going through my mind is the Thief Lord, Aaron Johnson, and 'I Shouldn't Be Alive," on Friday, which Aaron Johnson will be starring in. Hee, he's so awesome.


	10. Chapter Totally 7!

**Chapter 'All the Way to 7!'**

He came in wordlessly, holding a bag that looked like the kind that doctors carried on old T.V shows. He eyes were a strange golden green and snake-like, his mousy brown hair parted to the side and fell into the right part of his face. Criss opened his mouth to introduce himself, but he was immediately cut off.

"There's no need, Mr. Angel, I already know who you are. Where is Fallen?"

Criss blinked in surprise and pointed toward the living room, where Rae was laying on a sofa. Her eyes were closed, but they opened as soon as she heard footsteps.

"Rae Fallen, what in the name of Power were you doing?" The man said sternly, kneeling next to her.

"Oh, same old same old, Gabriel," Rae smiled weakly, chuckling. "Just a few trouble makers I had to take care of."

Gabriel opened his bag a pulled out a bottle of some strange, silver liquid. "Blood loss, fractured wing, and—"

Rae sneezed.

"—and a cold. Here, drink up, drink up. Get some blood back through those veins." He handed the bottle to Rae, who swallowed it quickly.

"Ugh, nasty shit."

"Hey, watch your mouth," Gabriel warned, although it sounded as though he only half-meant it. Criss sat on the opposite couch and watched the magic-doctor go to work. He pulled a small brown cake out of his bag and handed it to Rae, who accepted it greedily.

"What was that?" Criss asked. "Some sort of magic-healing-cake-thingy?"

Gabriel blinked his snake eyes once before smiling. "No, it's just a brownie—she likes them."

Criss made a mental note of that.

While Rae finished the brownie, Gabriel inspected her wing. He pulled his hand away, revealing a handful of small feathers. "You're molting," he sighed, slipping the feathers into his bag. "What category, then?"

"Only a three, but there'll be plenty of lightning!" Rae crowed, her uninjured wing fluttering happily. "I always lose feathers before hurricanes," she explained to Criss, who simply shrugged. There really was no surprising him anymore.

Gabriel took the injured wing in his hands and sighed. "Ready?"

Rae hugged a pillow to her chest.

_Crack!_ Rae yelped into the pillow as Gabriel twisted her wing back into place. As soon as he let go, she unfurled them and stretched. "That feels better!" Her back arched and the wings slowly sunk into her skin with a long _thwap _type of noise. Criss watched with wide-eyed shock. (Okay, he had lied about not being surprised anymore.) "How long 'til I'm allowed to fly again?" Rae asked cheerfully.

"A month at least, but knowing you, you'll wait a week before jumping of the roof of a building." Gabriel stood, closing his bag. "Please don't do anything stupid, alright?" He glanced over at Criss, who was shaking his head in disbelief of the whole situation. "Will he be needed a memory erase?"

Criss' head shot up in alarm.

"Uh, no, that won't be necessary, Gabe," Rae laughed nervously, ushering him to the door. "Send Dramlaya my regards, okay?"

Gabriel looked over Criss once, smirking. "Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Angel. Good luck."

"Um, same here, I guess." Criss said quietly, waving as the door shut. Rae turned and smiled sheepishly at him, scratching the back of her neck.

"How does coffee sound to you, eh?"

* * *

"About three or four years ago, I didn't live here in Bonita. I lived in Boston, with Dramlaya. On my fourteenth birthday, I started a metamorphosis—this angel, named Fallen, lived inside of me. We shared a mind and a body together. In order for us to find the cure that would separate us, we stole certain artworks from museums. These masterpieces had magical properties that no one else knew about. Gabriel was my private doctor, because when it came to things like broken wings, I couldn't go to a normal doctor." Rae smiled to herself and sipped at her coffee. Criss didn't even touch his. 

"Anyway, there was this boy named Roslyn, who was just like me—we were two halves of a whole. I was dark, and he was light. 'Angel' lived inside of him, and for a time he drove Roslyn insane, destroying his spirit. At one point, I grew angry with Roslyn for not fighting back the way he should have—I forced him to let Angel out, and we fought. While I could stop Angel from harming Roslyn, I couldn't get him to stop hunting me and Fallen. Until this man named Jay came—and tried to kill us all."

"See, being in my body was a punishment for Fallen, and same for Angel. Fallen was supposed to find her own cure, and Angel was supposed to kill her before she could. Truth was, they had been in love thousands of years before, but Angel had been a human named Christopher, and Fallen had been an angel named Adriane. It was unheard of for an angel to be in love with a human, and the tyrant of Kingdom Birinthia—"

"Kingdom Birinthia?" Criss interrupted. (Pronounced 'Bur-rin-thee-uh.')

"Like heaven, where your spirit is created and where it goes when you die. Anyway, this ruler, whom was named Power, cursed the two of them, stealing their memories of love and giving them their quests to destroy one another. Fallen was damned, and Angel was immortalized—which isn't as pleasant as you'd think.

But while they shared our minds and bodies, we slowly changed. In only a year, I grew taller and slimmer, my skin became flawless, my hair grew long and wavy, and my eyes slowly turned purple. Roslyn too, grew tall and strong, his hair growing from this short choppy cut until he could pull it back. Cutting it was useless—it grew one length and stayed that way. His eyes were golden, just like Angel's were. We no longer grew sick from Earthly diseases, are bones healed quickly when broken, scar and cuts mended in seconds.

For a while, the changes were so large that we could still go to school without any of our friends thinking much about it. But then…" Rae took a deep breath. "Then our secret got out, and we were pretty much shunned from everyone." She smiled sorrowfully and touched her earring. "You don't know it, but about three years ago, you almost died."

Criss raised his eyebrow. "How—"

"J.D almost died, Costa, your mother—everyone, Criss. Everyone on this freakin' planet almost died. I sacrificed myself for Earth—I killed myself, because that's what needed to be done."

Criss sat back, his eyes large with disbelief. "So it's like 'The Crow,' then?" he said softly after a few minutes. He looked her up and down. "Are you dead?" he asked suspiciously.

Rae laughed and shook her head. "No, I'm not dead—I was brought back to life when the shattered pieces of my soul were restored. This boy named Raxe (A/N: Pronounced 'Rah-zhay') had housed my spirit, and he gave it back to me. Of course, he died the same way I had—when Birinthia was restored, the New King gave him a spirit, and he became the Gatekeeper.

Anyway, after the war was over, Angel and Fallen were permanently separated from our bodies, and so they became immortal again and we gained back some of are more human characteristics. Nowadays, I can once again feel pain and bleed and get sick—I missed it, actually. But I still fight Shadows and Hounds and…well, you don't know what those are, but you get it, right?"

Criss nodded slowly, rubbing his temples. "So, if you can still fly, can you do other stuff? Is that why you're a magician?"

"Well, I use magic sometimes, like levitating and walking through glass and stuff. But normally, I do it the fair way." Rae rubbed the bridge of her nose as if she had a headache. "My magic used to be unlimited, but now that Fallen and I are separated, it's not as strong as it once was. Now, the only abilities I have left are to manipulative, warping, and mind-touching." She laughed at Criss' confused face.

"I have no idea what any of those are."

Rae sighed. "Manipulating something is bending it anyway to your will. I could start a fire with a flick of my fingers, or use my body as a conductor for a lightning strike. But I can't create fire out of thin air—I could make it grow bigger, stronger, and I could aim a lightning strike at a tree, but I couldn't just pull it from nowhere. You understand?"

"I'm trying."

"Warping is like teleporting a coin from one hand to the other. I use warping when I perform magic tricks—I can make myself levitate, or I could make a bird that was in a tree suddenly appear in my hand. Warping is the hardest to master…it's basically defying the laws of physics, changing time and space. About six months to master it for me, and for anyone without an angel it could take up to two years."

Criss ran his fingers through his hair. "Wow…you're saying anyone could master this stuff?"

"Someone with magic inside of them, yes. You just have to hone it, be gifted with creativity and invention…that's why I want to teach you. That's why I invited you down here. See, Roslyn was killed during the war, before he and Angel could separate themselves completely. Angel can't survive without a body and mind to share…I think, Criss," Rae paused, looking the magician in his eyes.

"I think that he's inside of you now."

* * *

Dun dun dun dunnnnnnnnnn... 

Criss Angel is now Criss Angel Angel!! (Becuase Rae Kitason became Rae Kitason Fallen, and Roslyn Lee became Roslyn Lee Angel...so Criss Angel is now Criss Angel Angel!!)

I know it's hard to keep up with, because I basically just disected my entire OFA trilogy for this, but if you have any questions...any at all...then review and I'll create a chapter where I can help you understand anything about Fallen, Angel, Gabe, or anything else you may not understand about Kingdom Birinthia (i like that name. I made it up! XP)

Roslyn is very sexy, so you all know...and he doesn't really die, but he does here. Please review, and stay tuned!!!


	11. Chapter 8

Alrighty! New chapter, and I actually now the number this time!

* * *

"In-inside of me?"

"Um…yeah." Rae blushed rather sheepishly, scratching her neck. "Am I starting to freak you out, now?"

"Uh, no, you've been doing that since I met you." Criss buried his face in his hands and sighed deeply. "So you're saying I'm like you?"

"Yes."

"So I could do magic?"

"After I train you, yes."

"What a minute—you want me to learn this before I get struck by lightning?"

"Bingo. Got it in one."

"HOW IN THE HELL AM I SUPPOSE TO DO THAT IN ONLY, LIKE, TWO FREAKIN' WE—"

Criss gripped his throat, looking at Rae in bewilderment. Her hand was pointing at him, curled in a way as if she were choking someone. "Jesus, boy, do you want to wake up the entire neighborhood?" Rae grinned suddenly. "And yes, I did just steal your voice…and yes, I did just read your mind." Rae let her hand drop, and Criss found his voice again.

"How am I supposed to do that in two weeks?" Criss whispered, quieting a little.

"I'm positive you could, if I could find a way to separate you and Angel. We need to just find him a body and mind for him to have."

"Can't we return him to Roslyn?" Criss asked, suddenly feeling very exposed. There was someone in his mind, poking around at his thoughts? Could he take over whenever he wanted?

"Roslyn's dead!" Rae snapped, her eyes watering. "You think I haven't tried that before?! Angel needs a living body, and you gave it to him!" Her eyes spilled over, and her head dropped into her hands.

Criss went over to her, kneeling down and touching her cheek. "I'm sorry, Rae. I didn't mean to bring up any bad memories. Were you in love, or something?" Criss felt his stomach churn, and he found himself hoping that she would say no.

"Yeah, we were. We had actually planned to be married, once we were old enough." Rae wiped her eyes, laughing ruefully. "I'm sorry that I yelled, but I'm really scared for you—I don't want you to try and get shocked by lightning without knowing how to control it. I don't want to watch another person die when I could have done something."

"Don't talk like that, you'll get _me_ scared." Criss laughed, sitting down next to her.

"You should be scared," Rae said, and Criss threw his hands in the air in exasperation. "I mean, manipulating is pretty simple, but we also need to find Angel someone suitable first, which could took quite a long time—"

"What about Raxe?"

Rae looked stunned. "What?"

"Raxe. You said he doesn't have a real soul, so—"

"The New King gave him one."

"That's not what I was saying. Don't interrupt me, I'm on a roll."

Rae laughed and brushed the rest of her tears away. "Okay, go ahead."

"Anyways, couldn't this New King give Angel a mind and body the way he gave Raxe a soul?"

Rae sat in silence for a moment, contemplating Criss' idea. Criss sat back and cringed, prepared for her to yell at him for suggesting such a stupid idea and of course the New King wouldn't be able to—

"Why in the hell couldn't _I_ think of that!?"

Criss arched his eyebrows, a slow grin creeping over his face. "Maybe because you're chugging rum instead of coffee, like me. Speaking of which, give me that." Criss yanked the bottle out of her hands, tossing her a stern look. "You're underage anyway."

Rae yawned suddenly, stifling it with her hand. "I'm also tired," she said sleepily. "Rum does many things—it makes men dance, tell stupid jokes, _laugh_ at stupid jokes, and talk about their mothers—but in the end, it will always put them to sleep."

Criss laughed and Rae curled up on the couch, burying her head in the cushions. "G'night," she said softly, closing her eyes. Criss stood and headed back to his room, touching her hair as he passed her.

"Sweet dreams," he smiled, setting his coffee down on the counter. He walked toward the hallway, but stopped short. He turned around and gazed at Rae, who was now fast-asleep, her breathing deep and even. The sudden force of this incredible secret hit him. _Real magic_. That power she must have in her—but she still looked like an innocent, normal girl. Her wavy brown hair fell over her borderline tan face, and her lips were pulled in a smile even as she slept.

She was one of those natural beauties—those girls who didn't need a crap load of makeup and plastic surgery to look pretty. But then again, maybe it wasn't natural. She had said that her looks had been transformed when Fallen had been within her. Criss rubbed his neck. Was this Angel going to start changing him too?

* * *

"Hey, why is there blood all over the floor?"

Rae and Criss exchanged quick looks before they put on the clueless act. "What blood?" Criss asked.

"This blood," J.D pointed at the floor. Banachek glanced up lazily from his newspaper and waved his hand dismissively.

"That was probably me. I dropped the knife while I was making myself a midnight snack and cut my finger."

J.D looked unconvinced, his brow still scrunched in suspicion. "I don't know—that's a lot of blood for a little finger."

"Well, it hurt, if that's any consolation to you," Banachek held up his index finger, which was wrapped in gauze. Dark, dried red could be seen coming through the bandage.

"Well, there was a footstep in it—Costa!"

Costa dropped a foot in the air, dropping the mop he had been cleaning the blood with. "Wh-what?!" he yelped in surprise.

"You're erasing evidence!" J.D whined, scratching his hair.

"Evidence of what, J.D? You're taking this over board. It's just a little blood." Rae shook her head with a chuckle. "You'd think you were paranoid, J.D."

Criss nudged Rae in the ribs as he dropped his dish in the sink. "How much blood did you lose anyway?" he whispered.

"Enough that a regular human would need a transfusion." Criss winced at the specific term. _Human._ Were they not human? "That drink Gabe gave me was a special dose that would make my blood start boiling again. Ironically, the one thing that cancels that to keep too much blood circulating is chocolate."

"So you don't like brownies?"

"Oh no, I love those things to little bits and pieces."

"You could have died?" Criss swallowed hard.

"Yes. And it's a good thing that you're a nosy persistent bastard, because most likely I would have lost the strength to find a phone and you would have discovered a dead, winged Rae Fallen on the kitchen floor today." Rae crooked a slender eyebrow at him. "Funny ol' world, innit?"

* * *

I love that line.

CRISS HAS A CRUSH ON RAE!!!!! MUAHAHAHAHA!!!

So cute to see the cocky, handsome magician get all sweet on oblivious Rae. Well, she'll see the truth soon enough.

Review, favore! Grazie! (I'm practicing my Italian for the Thief Lord-- if you've read that book, then check out 'Swimming Vaporetti.' Rae's in their too, but she's a bit more sweet than this one.)

Not by much, though. Sweet is boring. Unless it's Criss. Then it's cute.


	12. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine  
You'll Earn Them

"CRISS ANGEL! PUT SOME DAMN CLOTHES ON, MY HOUSE IS NOT A STRIP CLUB!"

Criss, who had been walking through the kitchen towards the couch, blinked at Rae as if she had horns growing out of her head. "I have clothes on."

"A TOWEL DOESN'T COUNT!"

Criss grinned mischievously, waddling back into his room. He came out wearing a _very _loose pair of dark jeans, so loose that Rae gave a loud sigh.

"Criss, that' nearly as bad as the towel. Jesus, where's J.D to strangle some sense into you when I need him?" Criss was using said towel to rub-dry his long web of dark hair. "At least put a belt on, those pants are about to fall off."

"You would like that, wouldn't you?"

"Uh-huh. Sure."

"Admit it—you love it when I walk around shirtless."

"This would be the first time, genius."

"But you like, don't ya?"

"I've seen better before."

"Of course you have," Criss rolled his eyes.

"Darling, we're in Florida here. Men are constantly running around shirtless, I'm _positive _I've seen much better."

"You know, you're right."

"I am?"

"Yep. It's like, 'when in Rome, do as the Roman's do.' So I'll stop wearing shirts."

"CRISS! THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT!"

Criss looked over Rae's shoulder at the pot she was stirring, a delicious chicken smell wafting into his nose and making his mouth water. "Mmm, what's for dinner?"

"Chicken and yellow rice. Now quit drooling into my food."

Criss jumped onto his counter, toying with a knife that sat by the sink. "So anyway, about all this magic stuff…"

"Magic _stuff?_"

"Yes. When are we going to start training?"

"Who else is here?"

Criss whistled and jumped off the counter. "Nobody, they went out for gear to start filming."

"Then your training starts now."

* * *

"I can't feel a single muscle in my body," Criss whined, flopping tiredly onto the couch. He blinked up at Rae, who smiled and ruffled his hair fondly.

"You're funny when you've been worked to death."

"Ha-ha, you're hilarious when you've worked someone to death." Criss closed his eyes and flopped his head onto a pillow. "Is this normal?"

"Do you remember the very first day you ever really worked out?"

Criss remembered. It had a description of three words: Sore, crabby, and finally numb. "Yeah, I remember."

"For the next week, that's all you'll be feeling." Rae strutted away before coming back in with scissors, a large spool of leather hide, and her leather jacket. Criss peered at it and saw the two long, parallel holes that stretched down the back of the jacket.

"From your wings?" he asked quietly. Rae nodded and began poking the leather along the gashes, then laced the string into them and tied it closed. Criss watched her work, the two of them silently enjoying a moment's peace to clear their heads.

"Every time I forget, there's always a little reminder," Rae said quietly, holding up her newly reconciled jacket. The leather looked as though it had been braided into the fabric, in a rather fashionable way, too. "I've got some shirts for you too—Gabriel sent them in the mail today."

"Shirts?"

"Yeah, they're made from a special material, so when your wings come out, the cloth doesn't rip like this." She gestured to her jacket, laying it down next to her. "Most of my clothes are made from the same material, but it's Dramlaya who makes them, so she always has excellent taste."

"Wings," Criss whispered to himself, and the thought of him having a pair of wings made his head throb. "Do they hurt?"

Rae sighed and stood to her feet, smiling at him comfortingly. "Only the first time," she said, "Then…it's like you want to die."

"I've always been good with death."

"I figure it's similar to having flesh hooks in your back," Rae said sardonically. "After they've grown once, the pain disappears."

"When?" Criss asked softly.

"When you earn them, of course!" Rae laughed, walking back into the kitchen. "You'll earn them, Criss—I know you will."

* * *

I'll get more descriptive with the hell rae gives Criss, but I wnated to post something. Sorry it's so short!


	13. Chapter 10

**Chapter...uhm...crap...**

"If you stand that stiffly, the water is going to backfire on you."

Criss glared at Rae as she sat perched on a boulder, gnawing on an apple while watching as he attempted to Manipulate the water. They had trekked into the woods behind Rae's house (at 5:00 am, much to Criss' displeasure) and taken a morning swim at the glade that was hidden by a circle of pine trees and thick bushes. Criss remembered how the trees and vines seem to ebb away from the two as they walked, making it easier to travel through the dense brush.

"You have to relax, dimwit."

"You're _really_ encouraging, you know that?"

"Shut up. C'mon, I mastered this in, like, twenty minutes."

Criss sighed irritably and pointed an accusing finger at her. "Then _you _come down here and do it, you smart aleck!"

Rae crooked one of her eyebrows at him, a mischievous smile stretching across her face. She lifted her hand lazily and twirled it in the air, twisting the water of the glade and sending it hurling toward Criss. Before he could duck, it hit him full-on, drenching his still damp skin even more. He shivered and stuck his tongue out at her. She simply chuckled and rolled nonchalantly onto her back, peering at him upside down.

"Bend your knees and don't bunch up your shoulders so much," she ordered, throwing her apple core at him. Criss scowled at her, bending his knees exaggeratedly and letting his shoulders hang low. (I started cracking up when I wrote that—I was imagining Criss dancing around, holding up his necklaces, and singing the song, "Chain Hang Low.") Rae glared at him and pursed her lips, leaping onto her feet and jumping down from her perch. She strutted over to him, whacking his head hard.

"If you're not going to even try, then I'm just going to let you get electrocuted when that hurricane comes." She grabbed his shoulders roughly and straightened them back out, looking him in his eyes. "Don't be so tense—Manipulating doesn't just tie to your hands and legs. It's tied to your mind, so if you're not actually trying, then it'll either freeze or move stiffly."

Criss took a deep breath and tried to loosen up his body, focusing on the sound of the sloshing water and the whistle of the wind as it blew through the trees.

"That's better. Now you have to imagine that you're made of water. Don't snort at me, I'm being serious. You have to move through every stance fluidly—you can't jerk around like a robot. Here, watch me," Rae bent her knees and arched her wrists above the water, moving it into the sky like a writhing snake. She stepped backwards and it moved with her, circling around as she danced in a circle. "C'mon, you try it."

Criss nodded and did what she did; only stopping when the water dropped from his hands and she showed him how to keep it in the air. Every half-hour or so she'd scrutinize his face and then order him to swim around for a minute. They had been practicing for a good three hours when Rae pressed her hand against Criss' forehead. He blinked at her in surprise, "What's the matter?"

"You're sweating really bad," she said worriedly, her voice shaking slightly.

"It's humid," Criss said dismissively, but Rae didn't look the least bit convinced.

"You can't be sweating this bad. It's not healthy."

"It's probably just because I'm not used to—"

"You've been in Florida for nearly two weeks. Your body should have adjusted to the climate. Let's go back—I want you to lie down."

Criss opened his mouth to argue—he had just started getting the hang of it—but Rae grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the glade's clearing and into the woods, stomping purposely through the bushes and mud. Every once and a while she'd wave her arm as if she were pushing something back, and a tree or a vine would lean away from her, clearing a path.

Criss remembered looking up at the sky, thinking about how ridiculous Rae was being, when his temples suddenly shot with white hot-pain. He cried out and fell to the ground, his hand slipping from Rae's. He writhed on the ground in a seizure, screaming in agony as the blinding light filled his vision. His felt Rae touching his wrist, tearing off his shirt and bundling it beneath his head. He was aware of tears streaming down his cheeks, his chest bucking desperately into the air, and the burning sensation of vomit in his mouth.

Rae rolled him onto his side, so he couldn't swallow the bile into his lungs, and kept her hand on his back. Finally, after what seemed like a terrifying eternity, Criss stopped jerking around. He curled into a ball, covering his eyes with his arm, crying and whimpering.

"What—what's happening to me?" he whispered, before his eyelashes fluttered closed and he passed out.

Rae gently opened his mouth and saw that during his convulsions he had bitten his tongue and lip deeply; blood was beginning to drip from this mouth and down his chin. Rae lifted him up and hoisted him onto her back—he was definitely heavier than her, but she was strong. She thought about how he looked, curled in a fetal position, sobbing to himself.

Broken…she hated it. In her anger, she kicked a tree's trunk hard, nearly dropping Criss.

_This isn't fair…why did you have to pick him, Angel?

* * *

_

"Is he going to be okay? Shouldn't we take him to the hospital if he had a heat stroke or something?"

_But he didn't. That's not the problem. _"I'm sure it was minor, J.D…he said he was dizzy and then he just passed out. He's going to be absolutely fine."

J.D stuck his left ringer into his mouth and started chewing at the skin, pacing back and forth in front of the couch Criss slept on. Rae sat on the edge of the sofa, watching J.D with a reassuring smile. "But what if—"

"J.D! I'm sure he's survived worse; I bet he can handle it. We probably just ran too hard or something. You guys should go back to the store and buy some more videotapes—we've already ran out."

After twenty more minutes of Rae's convincing and Banachek's loud groans of "J.D, he's not fourteen anymore!" they finally left. Rae pressed a cool compress to Criss' forehead, singing softly to herself.

"Silly boys…all of you guys. You're lucky to have a brothers and friends like that, Crissy. There's not many like them out there, huh?" She stood up and wrung the compress out, grabbing Neosporin and squeezing a bit onto her finger. She rubbed it against Criss' lip, shaking her head. "Dumb Angel…let's just go off and kill him, huh?" She heightened her voice mockingly, "'Oh, he's just practicing his magic really hard so I can have my own body, but I'm going to kill him anyway, just for kicks.'" Rae bent close to Criss' ear and whispered harshly, "I hope your listening, you stupid demon!"

"_I wouldn't kill him immediately," _a voice drawled, "_And I don't talk like a munchkin." _Rae shrieked in surprise and fell backwards off the couch. Criss sat up with a wicked grin, licking his teeth arrogantly. He cocked his head to the side and laughed. "_You look ridiculous."_

"Angel!" Rae gasped, staring into a pair of hard, golden eyes. It was a big difference from Criss' dark brown, and it took her a minute to tear herself away. "Don't scare me like that! And why didn't you transform all the way? Now he's gonna have a headache when he comes to."

"_He's a big boy, he can handle it,_" Angel snapped, inspecting his nails smugly. "_Besides, I did him a blessing. His body is still traumatized, I do believe the last thing he needs right now is the pain of growing wings._"

Rae started to argue, but she saw that it was worthless. She watched in amusement as Angel stood up and inspected Criss' body, flexing the muscles in his arms and touching his abdomen.

"_Good—he's strong enough. Sharp mind, too. He'll do quite nicely."_

"Stop molesting my friend's body and answer a question." Angel blinked his bullion eyes at Rae, a smirk growing across his lips. Or Criss' lips…? Whatever, same difference. "Why did you give him a seizure like that? He was practicing his Manipulating, and he was doing a decent job, too."

"_I did no such thing._"

"You used to do that to Roslyn when he didn't behave the way you wanted him to." Rae clicked her tongue in disapproval, "Using your power to your advantage…"

"_Roslyn, Power rest his brave soul, was keen on magic and highly intelligent, but unfortunately he was not given a strong body enough to support me. Those episodes were not started by me—it was him trying too hard to push me out, or to use magic beyond his control."_

"Then why would you do that to Criss? Was he using too much?"

"_Not in the least, young Rae. In fact, he was holding back a fair bit. But, he was also thinking sinfully, and I did him another favor and distracted him before I was allowed to surface. I've done nothing to the boy except save him from pain."_

"You gave the guy a _seizure_, Angel; you didn't save him from pain."

"_The pain I delivered barely lasted for a moment. He was more scared of losing control of his body. That's his fear, that's why he holds back his magic—his deathly afraid of losing control of himself and hurting others."_

"How was he thinking sinfully, anyway?" Rae interrupted, crossing her arms. "All we were doing was practicing—"

"_In the water. And your shirt was soaked through, and you were wearing that combination of cloth and string you call _clothes, _and—"_

Rae blushed and hit Angel hard on the shoulder. "Okay, I get it," she mumbled, tugging on her earring. Then she asked in a more somber tone, "Do you think his plan will work?"

Angel nodded, black hair falling into his gold eyes. "_I would have told you earlier, but I had no way to contact you. It was a damned miracle when you sent him that letter_," Angel grinned, looking like Criss with a very big evil side. "_I may have nudged him in the right direction—"_

"You brainwashed him, didn't you?"

"_Crude, but accurate." _Angel stretched out lazily, "_It's a good thing he came, anyway—he's quite crazy about you. I oughta tell him about the time—"_

"Okay," Rae interrupted, "I think it's time to give him back his body, now."

"_You've got feelings for him too, Rae, I can tell when—"_

"Now, Angel!"

Angel kissed her cheek with a grin and said softly, "_The time comes soon_." Then his eyes closed and he fell asleep, until finally the golden aura faded away and Rae knew that Angel was gone.

For now…

* * *

Muahaha! Angel arrives! I love him, but he can be really cynical and mean sometimes. I feel bad for poor Criss—the sight of Criss Angel whimpering on the ground definitely isn't pretty, but it makes me want to give him a big old hug.

And I forgot to mention before that Rae and Criss (And Roslyn, R.I.P) transform when they experience sin. So if they're mad, or jealous, or vain, or lustful (which is a miracle that Criss didn't transform XD) then they change into Fallen or Angel, and if Fallen or Angel are kissed, then they change back into Rae and Roslyn.

Please review! Oh, and I forgot to add that last chapter was dedicated to Snape's Opera Rose, since she told me I need to make Criss shirtless and give him low jeans. (Schmexy, schemxy…)

V Right down there, people.


	14. Chapter Half Way To 11

**_Teaser Chapter_**

Criss woke up with a soft cry, slumping back onto the couch, pressing the heel of his palm into his forehead. He gave a low whine like a wounded animal, squeezing his eyes shut. _My head…_

Aspirin. He probably just had a migraine.

He stumbled to Rae's medicine drawer and searched for Tylenol, popping four into his mouth. But the moment the pills touched his tongue, fire erupted in his stomach and he promptly threw up into the sink. His body shuddered with every heave, and his head swam. He groaned and slid to the floor, closing his eyes tiredly. He didn't know how long he had been laying there when he felt the presence of someone else.

"You took aspirin, didn't you?"

Criss glanced up out of one eyes, coughing into his hand. "Yeah," he whispered, closing the eye.

"You can't have human medicine anymore. It's deadly stuff to Angel, so he'll force your body to get rid of it." Rae sat down next to him, their arms brushing. "You'll have to wait until Gabriel restocks my _other_ medicine cabinet."

"But my head hurts," Criss whimpered, laying his head on her shoulder. "And I can't keep my eyes open…"

"I know. C'mon, let's get you back onto the couch, okay?"

Criss slung an arm around her shoulders and she helped him to his feet, the two of them staggering back over to the living room. "Just lie back down and close your eyes. Sleep a while, you must be tired."

Criss blinked once before laughing weakly, "That's a good song."

'_Don't look, don't look,' the shadows breathe;  
__Whispering me away from you.  
_'_Don't wake at night to watch her sleep,'  
_'_You know that you will always lose.'_

'_This trembling adored,'  
_'_Tousled, bird-mad girl.'  
__Still every night I burn,  
__Every night I call your name._

_Every night I burn,  
__Every night I fall again…_

'_Oh, don't talk of love,' the shadows purr,  
__Murmuring me away from you.  
_'_Don't talk of worlds that never were,'  
_'_The end is all that's ever true.'_

'_There's nothing you can ever say,'  
_'_Nothing you can ever do…'_

But before Rae could finish, Criss had already fallen asleep. She smiled and left for the door, her wings already fluttering on her back.

_Still every night I burn,  
__Every night I scream your name.  
__Every night I burn,  
__Every night the dream's the same._

_Every night I burn,  
__Fighting for my only friend.  
__Every night I burn,  
__Waiting for the world to end…

* * *

_

Okay, I'm going to consider this another sort of intermission, teaser chapter. Muahaha…review if you'd like on this chapter, but you don't have to since it doesn't really count. I had to post something, I was bored out of my mind.

I'm going to go watch 'the Crow,' now...that's how Criss should know that song, if your wondering. Because Criss Angel is a big fan of that movie, that's why he wears that black and white makeup sometimes.

I might use that in here somewhere...go ERIC DRAVEN!!! And R.I.P Brandon Lee...I love him..


	15. Chapter 11

**_Chapter 11_**

Two weeks.

For the first two days, Criss mastered water. The next two days was spent with air (which was much more fun, and he had created a game of pushing random objects and scaring J.D) Then it was three entire days of earth, and then another three of fire. Electricity was surprisingly easy—a light shower had provided a good chance to practice, and it only took him a few hours. Rae caught a few bolts of lightning and held them between her hands, shooting one or two at Criss. He'd have to return it without hurting her or himself. Then, when Rae had approved his skills in Manipulating, they began working on Mind-Touching.

_Alright then, two plus nine._

It should have been an easy math question, but with the static noise buzzing in his temples, it was easy to misinterpret.

Two plus five?

_Seven?_

Rae shook her head. "Eleven."

Criss sighed. "Okay, another."

Banachek and Dave were watching with raised eyebrows as the two young magicians sat across from one another; every few seconds, Criss would name a number, and Rae would name another. Criss would either look pleased or disappointed, and then the process started over again.

It was quite odd to watch, to be truthful, but they simply suspected that the two were practicing some new magic trick.

_Well, look at it this way…you can't hear thoughts very clearly, but you definitely can send them well. _

Which to Criss, of course, sounded more like, 'Hell, took hat shit piss way, drew plant hear droughts very clearly, but drew (the next one was unidentifiable) plan send them Hell.'

Criss blinked and repeated what he heard out loud. Banachek and Dave exchanged looks before leaving the room. Rae laughed her head off.

"I said, it's hard for you to understand what I'm saying, but your Touch is very clear."

"Oh." Criss laid his head on his arms and sighed. "This is giving me a headache."

Rae pulled a vial out of thin air and handed it to him. He grinned at her and swigged it down; it tickled his tongue and warmed his throat, and his headache evaporated. "You're getting better, though. You don't really need Mind-Touching to control lightning, but it's a good gift to have. Once you're done with understanding messages, then I'll teach you how to sift through memories and shield yourself from someone who might try to Touch your mind for evil."

Criss closed his eyes. _It gives an entirely new meaning to the term 'private joke.' Why did the chicken cross the road?_

Rae snorted loudly, shaking her head.

_See? You could start laughing for reasons no one else would understand._

_Quit joking around, what's fifty-two minus sixteen?

* * *

_

"Where are you going?" Criss asked, watching Rae shrug on a long leather jacket. She waltzed to her wardrobe mirror, sitting down in front of it. Criss stood next to her, touching her back. The leather didn't liquefy at his touch, the way Dramlaya's special material did, so he knew that she wasn't planning on using her wings. "Date?"

"Concert," she explained, taking a small tin out of one drawer. Inside was a white powder, which she quickly painted her face with. When her entire face was pale enough, she grabbed a tube of black lipstick. "I sing alongside Zuko sometimes, but mainly I'm there to sing background and look pretty."

"How do you plan to do that looking like a pale ghost?"

"It's a thing we have. Zuko insists that we each dress up like someone. He dresses like you, I dress like Brandon Lee, Nigel dresses like Jack Sparrow, and Johnny dresses like Scar Face." Rae blackened her lips and eyes, drawing lines down from her forehead, over her eye, and onto her cheek. She grinned as she added lines stretching from the corners of her mouth.

"That's cool, in a weird way. Where are you performing at?"

"High school prom in Naples," Rae laced up a pair of floppy boots halfway, so they looked a fair bit big. Her phone buzzed in her pocket and she flipped it open. "Moshi, moshi, Johns! What's it?" They was a distressed babble from the other end. Rae's face seemed to lose its glow. "Sore throat? No, no, we can't pass this gig up, Johns, he needs the money."

Rae suddenly glanced up at Criss like he was the answer to her prayers. "Don't tell them to find someone else. I got a plan. See you there, okay?"

"Who was that?" Criss asked, shifting uncomfortably beneath Rae's large, maniacal grin.

"It was Johnny. Zuko got a sore throat and he can't sing, but he's in debt and we really need the money." Rae's grin grew wider, and she scrunched her hair into wet curls with some mousse. "But since he dresses up like a certain Criss Angel…"

"You want _me _to sing?" Criss gasped, but he was secretly pleased. He loved being up on stage, singing. "There's no way…"

"C'mon, you've seen Zuko, you two look exactly alike. Just throw on some clothes, wear your chains, and no one will know the difference."

"I don't know any of your songs," Criss pointed out rather sadly. Rae shook her head.

"Fall Out Boy, The Academy Is…, Jimmy Eat World, Creed, and My Chemical Romance. We play their songs, and I can give you my memories."

"I can barely understand you giving me math questions, Rae."

"Then you're getting a damn crash-course!" Rae looked at him pleadingly, "Please, Criss? I do not want my friend getting evicted from his house, because he would insist on living with me. The last thing I need is one more mouth to feed."

Criss cocked his head to the side with a grin, his eyes sparkling. "Yeah, yeah, I'll do it—"

"Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!!!" In her excitement, Rae kissed Criss' cheek. "This is great!" She sprinted out of the room, her fingers already dancing on the keypad of her phone.

Criss watched her with amusement, touching his cheek lightly, smiling as he followed her out.

* * *

Aw, they're so cute. Rae's just taunting Criss here XD

And this chapter is dedicated to the real Zuko, whom has moved to Boston and is terribly lonely there. I love you Zuk! If your reading this, I mean.

Everybody mourn Zuko with me!!!!

WE LOVE YOU!!!

Oh yeah, and go review and tell you how much you love me! XD Just kidding, it's okay if you hate me.


	16. Chapter 12

Sorry the update took so long, everybody! This stage scene was so flipping hard to write. I had to listen to the song, and rewind it, then type, then listen again...ugh, lots of work. But it was worth it!! Here it is, guys! Enjoy!!!

WARNING!!! Lyrics in itlalics are Criss singing alone. Lyrics in parantheses is Rae and Nigel singing background, and lyrics that are in a verse that are plain are Criss and Rae singing together. Get it, got it, good.

Disclaimer: I don't own criss (damn) or Fall Out Boy (Peteyy!!!)

* * *

**Chapter...uhm...gosh dang it!!!**

"Hiya, Criss!" Johnny shouted as Rae and Criss showed up backstage. He waved frantically and earned himself a resounding slap across the head from Nigel. He yelped and shot the Brit a 'what'd I do?' look before realization dawned on him. "Oh, I mean, _Zuko._ Hahaha, right guys? Right, right, right?!"

"Coffee?" Rae asked, handing a teenage stage worker her guitar. Peter shook his head.

"Mountain Dew. I don't understand what the hell went wrong."

"Uh, maybe the fact that it's chock-full of caffeine?"

"Is it? Dang, I didn't know that. How's it going, Criss?"

Criss grinned at him, looking around with excitement as the stage-hands set up the instruments. "It ain't too bad, Peter. Nigel, love the threads, man." Nigel smiled broadly and fingered his pirate garb, his black curls hidden beneath a faded red bandana.

Rae nodded to herself happily as she watched the four talk heatedly about the large crowd, the awesome acoustics of the gym, and the group of girls who had eyed them up when they walked in. It was nice to the boys and Criss get along so well, despite their age difference. _Only four years_, she reminded herself, but it was still a lot. Johnny bounced around the other three, his eagerness to play spreading to them like a contagious disease. Finally, with everyone tapping their feet and wringing their hands impatiently, a teenage boy's voice floated over the stereos.

"What's goin' on, Naples High!? Ow-ow!" He was greeted with a great roar of a gym-full of teens. "Alright, alright, we got a special group of some crazy kids for ya to-night! Put 'cha hands togedda for Army of October!" More cheers, and a song began.

Criss panicked. "Shouldn't we be out there?" he asked. Rae shook her head and assured him,

"We start with the theme song from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. It's just a thing we do. The curtain won't rise till it's over." They listened to the blasting brass instruments before she shot him a large, eager grin. "Ready to go, 'Zuko?'"

* * *

The gym seemed to shake as the band walked out onto the stage; the teenagers were screaming so loudly. There were a few screams of 'Marry me, Zuko!' to which Rae laughed as Criss' ears burned sheepishly. She grabbed his arm before he reached the mike and whispered quickly, "Go with everything, okay? Get into the music."

"Go with everything?" Criss hissed back worriedly, but Rae simply punched his chin playfully and took her spot by on stage left. Johnny nodded to everyone before he began beating out a steady beat on his drums, and Nigel and Rae strummed at their guitars. Criss waited a few moments to breathe before he began,

_I am an arm's dealer,  
Fitting you with weapons in the form of words.  
__Ah-and (don't really care, which side wins)  
__Long as the room keeps singing that's just the business I'm in._

_This ain't a scene; it's a goddamn arm's race,  
_This ain't a scene; it's a goddamn arm's race.  
_This ain't a scene; it's a goddamn arm's race,  
__I'm not a shoulder to cry on, but I digress…_

Rae gave a loud shout before the music picked up its tempo and the guitars jarred in the air. Rae and Nigel jumped about, banging their heads and flipping their guitars around their waists. Criss grinned at their wild skill. _These kids are freakin' crazy!_

_I'm a leading man,  
__And the lies I weave are oh-so intricate.  
__(Doo doo doodoo doo!) Oh-so intricate!  
__(Doo doo doodoo doo!)_

_I'm a leading man,  
__And the lies I weave are oh-so intricate.  
__(Doo doo doodoo doo!) Oh-so intricate!  
__(Doo doo doodoo doo!)_

Rae and Nigel calmed down a bit, both their chests heaving from their chaos. Criss grinned at her and winked, and she quickly sent him a commanding, _Move around on the stage, dummy! Play around with the mike!_

_I wrote the gospel on getting low,  
__(You look pretty sinking)  
But real bombshells have already sunk.  
__(Pre-Madonna's of the gutter)_

_At night—we're painting your trash gold,  
__While you sleep.  
__Crashing not like hips and cars,  
__No, more like p-p-p-parties!_

Criss stomped his foot to the beat, holding the microphone stand in his hands and dipping it low as if he were dancing with it. Rae sent him a strong feel of approval, and he tossed her a grin.

_This ain't a scene; it's a goddamn arm's race,  
_This ain't a scene; it's a goddamn arm's race.  
_This ain't a scene; it's a goddamn arm's race,  
__Bandwagon's full; please, catch another._

_I'm a leading man,  
__And the lies I weave are oh-so intricate._

Rae bounced her way over to Criss, pressing her back against his. He held the mike between them so she could sing into it.

_(Doo doo doodoo doo!) Oh-so intricate!  
__(Doo doo doodoo doo!)_

_I'm a leading man,  
__And the lies I weave are oh-so intricate.  
__(Doo doo doodoo doo!) Oh-so intricate!  
__(Doo doo doodoo doo!)_

_Hey-ey-ey!! Whoa-oa-ooh-whoa-oa-oa!!!_

"Sing it, Criss!" Rae shouted gleefully before the guitars faded out and Johnny's steady drum took over.

_Whoo!_

_All the boys who the dance floor didn't love,  
__And all the girls whose lips couldn't move fast enough.  
__Sing…  
__Until your lungs give out!_

"Sing it back, Naples High!" Rae yelled into her microphone. "This ain't a scene, it's a—"

"GODDAMN ARM'S RACE!"

Criss jumped in. "_This ain't a scene, it's a—"_

"GODDAMN ARM'S RACE!"

_This ain't a scene; it's a GODDAMN ARM'S RACE!  
_This ain't a scene; it's a GODDAMN ARM'S RACE!  
_This ain't a scene; it's a GODDAMN ARM'S RACE!!!  
_

This ain't a scene; it's a GODDAMN ARM'S RACE!  
This ain't a scene; it's a GODDAMN ARM'S RACE!

Rae streaked her guitar and it let out a long squeal.

_I'm a leading man!  
__And the lies I weave are oh-so intricate.  
__(Doo doo doodoo doo!) Oh-so intricate!  
__(Doo doo doodoo doo!)_

_I'm a leading man!  
__And the lies I weave are oh-so intricate.  
__(Doo doo doodoo doo!) Oh-so intricate!  
__(Doo doo doodoo doo!)_

_Yeah-ha, AHHH!_

As the song ended, Rae came close to Criss as they took their first bow. "Does it feel good?"

"Hm?"

"Being a rock star?"

"About as good as it gets, sweetheart."

* * *

Woot! Go review and tell me how horrible it was!! -bounces away dancing with Goren and humming Fall Out Boy songs-


	17. Chapter 13

**Chapter 'I'm Going to Take a Lucky Guess and Say that It's 14.'**

"Man, was that fun or what?! And you, Rae, you've got one helluva voice! You were all background-ish and stuff, but you coulda kicked me in the ass!! Hahaha…"

"I'm gonna kill the bastard who spiked the punch," Rae muttered, staggering underneath Criss' weight. He swaggered drunkenly, hiccupping while he beamed at the sky.

"Wow! Look at those stars, Rae! All sparklin' and dancin' and stuff…" Criss pulled himself away from Rae and stumbled over the street, holding his arms out to the side and fairly skipping. "Encore, encore! C'mon, Rae, sing it wit' me…_You thought you were there to guide me/ You were only in my way/ You're wrong if you think that I'll be just like you!"_

"Criss! For Power's sake, get your ass back over here, you idiot. You're going to get ran over!"

"Hahaha!! Life's a bitch and then you die, so fuck the world and let's get high!!"

"Well you're already drunk—" Rae caught Criss' arm and slung it back over her shoulders, steering him in the right direction down Old 41. Johnny had offered them a ride, but Criss had taken off towards the woods in search 'of the freakin' Holy Grail! Duh!'; so Rae waved the van off to chase down Criss before he hurt someone.

"Drunk is just the beginning, babe! I'm serious!" He giggled insanely and gave Rae's cheek a large, loud kiss. She wiped her cheek and snorted. "Cocaine, speed, Mary Jane…you name it!"

"Will you shut your mouth? You can't just waltz through B-Town screaming about different types of drugs!"

"WHO'S SCREAMING?! I'M NOT SCREAMING!"

"Shut up!!"

Criss flopped himself down on the edge of the sidewalk, sprawling out in the grass and sighing. "Let's stay 'ere da night, huh? I don't wanna go home," he chuckled happily and twisted his hands up in the long strands. "This place is so awesome! I wanna find somewhere where there ain't so many lights. We can look at da moon! Hahaha…" He jumped to his feet with surprising speed for a drunk and ran off towards the woods—again?!—that lined the side of the road. "Bet 'cha can't catch me!"

"Criss! God dammit, get your little magician ass back here, _NOW_!!" She groaned and tugged at her hair, deciding whether or not following him back into the woods was really worth it. _Criss! You stupid kid!_

_You're no fun, Rae! Come and get me!_

Even in his mind he hiccupped.

Rae buried her face in her hands before decided to follow him, with more caution—into the tiny forest. She moved slowly but purposefully, using her Manipulating to push vines and branches away. She heard a twig snap and a euphoric howl of entertainment come from somewhere on her left, so she promptly switched directions and followed Criss' loud stomps.

"RAE!! C'MERE, YOU HAVE GOT TO SEE THIS!!!"

Rae shook her head and swore to herself once again that she was going to dice the kid who dumped a quart of Vodka into the punch. Right through the gut. And then stab him in the eye—

"Oh my god."

Criss seemed to have sobered up slightly as he smiled contently and flopped down among a bed of pine needles. Above him, the heavens twinkled with so many stars that the percentage of silver was larger than the percentage of black. It was as if god had a treasure chest of diamonds and decided to dump them all on the stretch of sky that peeked through in the clearing. Rae covered her mouth with her hands in amazement and sat down next to him, laughing to herself.

"That's beautiful," she finally managed to utter out, laying back and resting her head on a pine tree's trunk. Criss grinned up at her and laid his head on her stomach. Rae ran her fingers through his long dark hair once before she stared back up at the stars, her thoughts drifting away guiltily to Roslyn.

* * *

"_It's funny—the w ay our scientists are always halfway right and halfway wrong." Rae glanced at Roslyn, who was staring up at the stars with his heads beneath his head. They were sprawled out on Dramlaya's roof, after the celebration of having Angel and Fallen separated from them for good. The two angels were still inside, probably sitting in front of the fire making kissy faces. Rae sent the image to Roslyn by Touch, and he laughed out loud._

"_How are they halfway right and wrong?"_

"_Like how they say that every star is just another sun, and there's an entire solar system around it? Partly true, right?"_

"_Every star is just a whole other world," Rae finished, smiling. She pointed at a bright star in the east of their expanse. "Look. There's the Door to Birinthia. And over there—where Crossroad City is. And there's Liavame, where we learned Manipulating."_

_Roslyn propped himself up on an elbow and touched Rae's nose with his long finger. "And here's another star—the one that taught me what love really is." He bent down and kissed Rae softly and slowly, one hand on her hip and the other pressed to the roof to keep him from falling on her. Rae's hand traveled into his hair, which had grown long enough to keep in a small plait due to Angel's influence._

"_I love you, Roslyn."

* * *

_

Criss gave a soft cry and jerked, snapping Rae out of her thoughts. She looked down at his black head with concern. "Criss? You okay?"

She heard his hard breathing for a moment, and then his shoulders released their tension. "_I'm, I'm alright... I thought a snake bit me or something."_

Rae closed her eyes and leaned back against the tree. "I guess we can stay here for the night. You're really in no condition to walk or use magic, and I bet we couldn't sneak back in without knocking _something_ over. We'd probably wake up J.D, and that's the last thing you want, right? He'd go ballistic if he knew you were drunk—" Rae was suddenly cut off as something soft pressed itself against her lips. Her eyes opened and she saw Criss above her, his hair falling on the sides of her face and his eyelashes touching her cheek.

Instinctively, her hands were pressed to his chest, pushing him away. And soon as his lips had let go of hers, she was already shouting. "What the hell is wrong with you? I've heard of angry drunks and stupid drunks, but never a kissing drunk!"

"_What are you complaining about? This is what you want from him anyway." _Criss craned his head other left and smirked at her, and she gasped as she saw a pair of pure gold eyes glittering at her.

"Angel!" Rae hissed, leaping at Angel. He stepped out of the way and she tumbled on the ground, catching herself and landing cat-like in a kneeling position, one leg tucked beneath her and the other stretched out straight to her side. "You stupid, arrogant, idiotic bastard!"

"_Oh, stop it. You know you enjoyed it. I've had more than 5,000 years of practice."_ Angel yawned to himself while he stretched his arms over his head. Rae stood back up and brushed herself off. "_It's time, Rae. You can't keep protecting him from me forever."_

Rae licked her lips nervously, her eyes dropping to the ground. "I haven't been protecting him."

Angel's tone became more soothing as he placed his hands on Rae's shoulders, giving her a gentle hug. _"You know you have. I can understand that you don't want him to experience the pain, but if he Separates from me before growing his wings and transforming at least once, then his body may be split and his mind shattered, the way yours was before. And the one good thing is that you're right here with him, to help him through it. Do you remember the pain of going through it alone?"_

Of course she remembered; it was like the worst nightmare of your life. She had grown woozy and disoriented, and it felt like someone was gripping her throat and just squeezing so she couldn't breathe. She nearly blacked out from lack of oxygen when this strong buzz shot through her spine, and then her back just exploded with pain, ripping apart in a mess of blood and black feathers. They fluttered on her back, trying to fly as if they had a mind of their own. Her hair had fallen around her face, and she could see that it was dark purple and straighter than her own brown waves.

It was the scariest thing that ever happened to her, and she wasn't about to let it happen to Criss.

"_You were planning to rid him of me _after_ he performed his stunt, am I correct?" _The absence of sound affirmed Angel. _"You know that it even more dangerous. If his body has never experienced me, it will not be able to hold that amount of electricity safely."_

"We've done it before!" Rae snapped.

"_But you powered those bolts down, I know you did. That was nothing compared to what he will really have to deal with. I'm going to give you one more chance, Rae. If you do not help him grow his wings, then I will have to take him by force." _Angel gave her another squeeze before he let her go. _"You're not the only one trying to protect him, Rae. I like the boy, too. As always, I will do what is best for my Host. Not what I _think_ is best—what I _know_ is best." _

_

* * *

_

--singing off key-- I LOVE ANGEL, YES I DO!! I LOVE ANGEL, HOW 'BOUT YOU?!

Gerard: Someone, in the name of all that is good and pure, shut her up NOW!

Jackie: Well, I bet you're not on that list, now are you?

Gerard: Hmph. (Goes off to write in diary) 'Dear Diary- Today Jackie said I wasn't good. It hurt. I cried.'

I got that off a picture of Gerard Way writing a song. Underneath there's a caption that says, 'Dear Diary- Today Frank said my hair looked weird. It hurt. I cried.'

Gerard, my messed up little sweetheart. Anyways, I had a lot of fun writing this chapter (Criss is just so gosh-darned funny when he's drunk) even if it is kind of short. Rae has some decisions to make...o.O

And did anyone watch CSI: NY on Wednesday?! Crissy was a guest star, playing a magician named Luke Blade. It was so great...he's actually quite a good actor, he really blew me away. At first he was a bit stiff, but then I actually forgot he was Criss Angel and only thought of him as Luke Blade. There's a lot of parody for his show, but it was awesome. I hope someone caught it, I want someone to squeal with.


	18. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen (revised!)**

"Do you smell cookies?" Criss asked as they entered Rae's house, his arm slung over her shoulder to support him. His eyes, still sensitive to the lights, blinked sleepily as they walked into the kitchen. "Whoa." Criss stumbled over to the counter and observed everything with a grin. "What happened here?" Chips, cakes, brownies, liters of soda, and grilled cheeses littered every inch of counter space, and even some of the floor. Where there wasn't food on the floor, however, there were men—Dave, J.D, Costa, George, Luke, Leif…even the great Johnny Thompson was snoozing off on the edge of the couch.

"Let's scream in their ears and scare the living shit out of them," Rae suggested sinisterly, and Criss moaned at her.

"No! You'll make my headache ten times worst than it is already." He rubbed at his temples and slumped against the island weakly.

"Well, that's your own damn fault for not stopping when you tasted _Vodka_ in the fruit punch!"

"And I resent that now," Criss groaned, "So can we drop it?" Rae rolled her eyes and punched his shoulder lightly, stepping gingerly over bodies and a bag of stale Tostitos. She nudged Luke with one foot and Costa with the other.

"Up and at 'em, boys!" she crooned, "Since you _idiots_ vacuumed all my junk food and frozen dinners down you esophagi, you lucky bastards get to clean my damn kitchen and then you're going grocery shopping! Yay!" Her eyes flickered over to where Leif's camera was sitting on the table, pointed directly at her with the red light blinking.

"He must've passed out before he could turn it off," Criss chuckled, hoisting the camera onto his shoulder and sticking his eye into the viewfinder. "I have got to tape this—they'll be humiliated when it airs on national T.V."

"Ooh, cruel," Rae grinned. "I love it." She kicked them harder, sneering as they grunted and tried in vain to bat her away. "Asses off the kitchen floor, _now_! Let's go!" Their eyes blinked open, soaking in their surroundings before they slowly raised themselves off the ground. They growled and glared at Rae, but her hands were on her hips and her eyebrow was raised stubbornly. "Why couldn't you order out from a restaurant? But no, Rae, we're not that smart! We're just going to make ever simple meal we can think of and eat that!"

"Sorry for not being able to cook," J.D grumbled. "We tried macaroni and it was too milky, then we tried grilled cheese and it burned, and then we decided to make a cake and it got squished when Costa tripped and it landed on the ground, and then we tried those cookies you just stick on the cookie sheet they were raw, and George was getting frustrated so he threw them all in the sink, and by the time we decided to just eat chips we were all so tired we just kind of passed out."

"Well, J.D, that's a wonderful story. But unfortunately, it doesn't get you out of clean-up and shopping duty. Now all of you straighten up my kitchen, straighten up _yourselves,_ and get out of my house and don't come back without a truck-full of groceries."

Rae and Criss leaned back coolly as they watched the boys clean, grinning at one another and snacking languidly on Pop Tarts that hadn't been delved into by the glutton crew. Criss hissed slightly as his shoulders strained and burned while he shifted to get comfortable. Rae cast him a concerned look, placing her hand between his shoulder blades.

"You okay?" she asked.

"Y-yeah," Criss replied. "I think I just slept on my back wrong." The answer didn't seem to convince Rae, but she gave his neck an affectionate squeeze before she dropped her hand.

"Why don't you go upstairs and get some real sleep? I'll bring you something for your hangover in a minute."

Criss shook his head, smiling. "_Noooooo_," he whined like a small child, smirking because he knew Rae hated it. "I wanna stay here and watch them clean up!"

"Christopher Angel Sarantakos, get your ass upstairs, _now_."

Criss stood up with an exaggerated sigh, dragging his feet as he headed up to the second floor. "_Nobody likes me, everyone hates me, they're all out without me, having fun_!" he sang loudly, ducking as a Pop Tart was thrown at his head. "Hey, hey, watch it!"

"You guys go to the grocery, I'll finish cleaning up," Rae said when he was gone, grabbing the mop from Costa. They shrugged and filed out the door, adding up their budget to make sure they had enough. Rae dropped the mop carelessly to the ground when the door closed, and she ran her fingers through her hair.

"Criss?" she called. "You still need medicine?" Her stomach turned when she heard nothing but the buzzing silence, and she had to hold onto the edge of the counter to keep herself from running up the stairs in her worry. "Criss?" she said again. "You okay?"

"Rae…" she heard his voice waver down, thick and slurred. "I think…I think something's wrong with my back…"

There it was. Rae's eyes closed and she slid to the floor, digging her nails into her palm as she clenched her fists. _He's finished, _she thought. _The metamorphosis ends here. _"Criss," she yelled shakily. "No matter what happens, I'm here, okay?"

"Wh-what…?" Criss moaned. "Rae, I really don't feel good…" He sounded young, frightened, like a little boy about to go on his first roller coaster.

_Don't interfere, _Rae told herself sternly. Is this what it was like for Dramlaya? To have to hold yourself back while someone you loved went through the most unbearable of their life? _I can comfort him, though. I can hold his hand; I can be there with him._

But no. As much as she hated to admit it, Rae had no control over herself when it came to things like that. She _would _do anything to stop it—even potentially kill Criss on accident. When an angel grew their wings, it was a dangerous time. Even the smallest wound received during that time could cause them severe injuries. She would have to stay down here and pray that the wings would grow quickly, so that she could upstairs and be with him, to soothe him afterwards.

"Rae," she heard him cry desperately. "Rae, I don't know what's happening. I-I can't…I can't breathe…"

"You'll be okay soon, Criss," Rae said. "It'll be over soon." Her fists furled in even more tightly, and she squeezed her eyes shut as his scream suddenly pierced the silence. Tears dropped down her face as she listened to his torture, and the wave of magic emitting from him slammed her hard. But still, she waited, waited for it all to end so she could run up the stairs and comfort her friend.

_Angel was right…I need to do what's best for him in the long run._

Finally, after what seemed like eternity, his roars of complete agony and fear died down to soft sobs, and she heard a quiet _thunk! _as he fell to the ground in exhaust. She could hear his wings fluttering, she could feel the newborn radiating off of him, and she could smell the coppery scent of blood from where his skin had torn.

Without waiting another moment, she flung herself off the ground and up the stairs, running into his room and falling on her knees at his side. "Oh, Criss," she gasped, staring in wonder at the sight. Two powerful silver wings that were stained with crimson blood quivered, curled around his body protectively. Rae reached out and touched them with gentle hands, like silk beneath her fingers. "Criss, they're beautiful."

Criss hiccupped and wrapped his arms around his stomach while he trembled. "Pain…" he croaked. "For the last month, nothing but pain…"

"It's all over now, Criss," Rae soothed, cradling his head in her lap. Blood was splattered on his face, and his chest was naked due to the force of the wings ripping the cloth apart. "You'll never cry again—all the pain is over." She stroked his face tenderly, staring into his brown eyes that were noticeably more golden. "I know it hurt, baby," she murmured, and the word _baby_ rolled out before she could stop it. It took her a moment to realize that she was reciting what Dramlaya had whispered to her all those years ago. "I know it hurt. It'll never hurt again."

"Why didn't you come when I needed you?" Criss whimpered, his amber-brown eyes welling up. "I-I, I just wanted…"

"I'm sorry, Criss," Rae said softly, running her hands across his arms to try to stop his tremors. "I had to let you do it alone. I couldn't trust myself to watch. I would try to stop it. I've been hesitating since I told you about Angel—I remembered how much it hurt, and I didn't want you to feel that."

"They're dirty," Criss said, wiping his nose and looking at the wings. "They're covered with blood."

"Everything's covered with blood," Rae laughed slightly, looking around her room. It was splattered everywhere, on the ground, on the walls. "J.D will have a field day with this."

"I don't think Banachek's finger will cover our asses this time," Criss chucked weakly. Rae took his hand and helped him to his feet, admiring his wings with glassy eyes.

"They really are beautiful, Criss. They're just like I remembered." She grabbed an old shirt that was slung on the bed and cleaned them off, until not one white feather was tainted with red.

"They feel sore," Criss said, slowly unfurling them and giving them a flap that took some difficulty. "But in a good way, ya know? They feel like they belong."

"That's because they do, Criss. That's because they do."

* * *

Woot! All right, I submitted this before and it was short, so I reposted it with some mendings and stitches here and there. Please please please please please please please please review!!!

I enjoyed the MCR concert, if anyone's interested. Lil' Mikey Way wasn't there, but it was still really wonderful.


	19. Chapter 15 revised

I hope this chapter inspired your fingers to write some reviews! We are nearing the end of this story, my friends, this will be the first fanfiction I've ever completed! -blows party horn and passes out cookies-

**But on an _EXTREMELY IMPORTANT NOTE!!_ we have decided to hold an interview [and we is my friend Johnny and I who suggested that I hold a type press-conference thing. Which is coo by me, so... This is your chance to ask me any question you want! THAT'S RIGHT, ANYTHING! At least, anything that relates to Of Fallen Angels or even me as an author. You can ask me whatever. What I eat for breakfast, even. Just nothing mean. I can't handle the mean. :)**

**So send me the questions either in the reviews or in PMs. I will answer them in a special chapter before the story ends!!**

--C. (Wrote this twice so people would PAY ATTENTION TO IT!!)

**

* * *

**

**Chapter Fifteen (SUPER IMORTANT CONTEST IN AUHTORS NOTE AT END!!)**

A few days later, alerts began flashing during the morning news. People rushed to grocery stores, stocking up on batteries, water, dried foods like cocoa, boxed soup, and macaroni. The sky outside darkened—the amount of cars on the road shrunk drastically.

The hurricane Wilma, a category three, would hit them at five o' clock that Wednesday morning.

As predicted, the Fallen Manor was bustling with activity. Rae and Criss decided not to let anyone know about their magic…at least, not yet. A suit had been delivered, one of the same chain mail as the one as the last time, and Criss began training his mind by sitting out in the rain, feeling the shaking thunder and watching the sharp intense lightning. Rae occasionally went out and sat with him, talking to him about nothing, talking to him about everything.

"For the time I've been here, Rae, I've felt nothing but pain. Headaches, vomiting, seizures, fevers—"

Rae looked guilty, tugging on her earring sheepishly. "I know, Criss, I'm sor—"

"No, no, let me finish. All that pain has left me tired, and weak, and I don't know what my priorities are. I came here to get shocked by a bolt of lightning, and now I learn that I'm a little part of something so much bigger than myself. The eye of the hurricane is going to be over us in two days…and until then, all I want to do is sleep. But I can't, because all I've been doing is sleeping. And I figured out that I'm tired, but Angel is restless."

Rae looked at him in surprise, her amethyst eyes growing wide. It was the first time Criss had referred to Angel by name—usually he called the being 'him' or 'this Angel person.'

"And to me, it's a sign." Criss reached over and gripped Rae's hand tight in his, staring at her with his golden-brown eyes. "It's time for us to separate, Rae. He and I need our own bodies, our own minds back." Criss grinned and whispered jokingly, "Quite frankly, we can't stand each other."

"You two have been talking," Rae laughed, her amethyst eyes glittering.

"He told me how it works. He told me it's not so bad," Criss said softly, and Rae saw him touch his back where the new scars were from his beautiful white wings. She put her hand on his shoulder comfortingly, and beneath his shirt she could feel the knots of the long scars. She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his hair, squeezing him tightly. He hugged her back, and it felt good. He hadn't been hugged in a very long time.

"If you're ready," Rae murmured, "Then we'll go, and you and Angel will be separated."

* * *

"Where are we?" Criss asked, stepping out of the car and looking around. They were in a wide open field that was surrounded by woods. The sky looked stormy, and he could hear thunder rumbling in the distance. 

"A meeting place—we need Dramlaya's help with this."

And as if on cue, a lightning bolt suddenly screamed through the air and hit a tree close by, exploding with a light that made Criss shield his eyes. When he felt the explosion disappear, he opened his eyes slowly and gasped. In front of him, standing a few feet in front of the tree, was a tall, pale woman—possibly the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. She was easily six foot tall, with long waving silver hair that dropped down to her waist, and weaved with countless braids hidden amongst the waterfalls of white. Her skin was pale, seeming to fade into her hair, perfect and flawless as it shimmered. Her face structure, however, he recognized to be that of Rae's—full lips, high cheekbones, long eyelashes.

When he overcame the shock, his first thought was to bow to her. She seemed to be some sort of goddess.

"Do not flatter me, Christopher, it is completely unnecessary," she said gently. There was a slight echo in her voice, the kind that one would imagine an angel to have.

"Dramlaya," Rae said with a cry, flinging herself into the woman's arms. They embraced, Rae's shoulders shaking as she cried. "Dramlaya…"

"Shhh," Dramlaya laughed sweetly, "Rae, darling, its okay."

Rae reluctantly let go of her, wiping her nose and grinning. "I've missed you," she said rather sheepishly.

"I've missed you too, my Fallen. And you, Angel," Dramlaya spoke to Criss, looking him in the eyes as if she were gazing right through him.

"_My apologies for not being able to present myself embodied," _Criss responded without thought, his lips moving without his permission. He blinked and covered his mouth in surprise, scowling as Rae and Dramlaya laughed.

"S'okay, Criss, Fallen used to do it all the time," Rae grinned. "And speaking of Fallen, how has she been?"

"She's at home in Birinthia, guarding Cloud with her life." Dramlaya smirked suddenly, looking very mischievous for such an angelic woman. "Apparently, a little of her heart is guarding him as well."

"Angel won't be pleased," Rae chuckled.

Criss felt an anger that was not his own stirring inside of him. "_Cloud!? I disappear for barely four years and she's already thrown herself at Cloud!?" _he shouted.

"Oh, Angel, he's coming after _her_, not the other way around. C'mon, you know she loves you—she just fancies the King a bit."

_Stop doing that, _Criss ordered Angel inside of his mind, who harrumphed and sulked in silence. Angel taking over every few seconds was giving him a headache.

"When will the others arrive?" Rae asked, cracking her fingers and shifting from foot to foot. "This needs to be done quickly—he needs to train before the hurricane gets here."

"Raxe will be here shortly with Fallen, and the Vagabonds will be here soon too. Titimlen said that Gerard may give her some trouble—apparently, he wasn't very happy about her budding romantic relationship with a man he has a feud with."

"Uh-oh," was Rae's response. "Those two have so much passion in them; this could get ugly. When they fight, it's like watching two star-crossed lovers, shouting and crying."

"Most of the shouting from Gerard and then crying coming from Jupiter. You know, Rae, I had a conversation with her about this..."

"I don't need to hear about the gossip right now, Dramlaya, be nice. I can't wait to meet Gerard, though, I haven't met him yet."

"Who are Titimlen and Gerard?" Criss asked.

"Alter-egos of you and me," Rae replied easily.

"I thought that was Fallen and Angel, though…"

"Yes and no. Vagabonds are alter-egos of you and me. There is one in each dimension. We are the originals—the New King created Vagabonds using our magic, so we seniority over them all."

"What do Vagabonds do?"

"They keep contact with The King, to tell him if there is any sign of Power's followers returning. They are guardians."

"How many are there?"

"Only four pairs that I know of—Jupiter Rae Titimlen and Gerard Way, Scipio Massimo and Rae Cascato, Rae Decazut and Robert Goren, and then me and you. There are more, but they haven't contacted the King yet. Do you understand?"

"Yeah…yeah, I get it." Criss rubbed his temples as his brief headache ebbed away. "When will they be here, then?"

"Erm—now."

The moment she finished her sentence, four more lightning bolts screamed down from the sky, each one striking a tree that grew in the woods that surrounded the clearing. Criss suddenly noticed that the clearing was a perfect circle, and around them, six trees were evenly placed around it. Each one grew taller and thicker than the others, and it each tree seemed to be designated for a bolt of lightning.

The lights faded as fast as they had appeared, and now people stood by the trees. Each one had a male and a female, save for one which only had a girl. They all came forward before they kneeled, bowing their heads low. It seemed extremely cult-like, and a shiver ran down Criss' spine.

"Bow back to them, Criss," Rae hissed, and he realized he was the only one still standing. Even Dramlaya had dipped her head elegantly while Rae had bowed at the waist. Criss followed suit, and they all stood back up, walking forward again.

"Hello, everyone," Rae greeted with a big smile, opening her arms wide. "Somebody come give me a hug."

The intense cult vibe immediately dissipated and they all began to embrace one another like long-lost friends, talking and laughing. Criss found himself lost in hugs, embracing people he didn't even know. But somehow, he felt like he was at home.

"Everyone," Rae tried to get there attention, "Everyone? Hey, guys…Decazut, that was my foot you just stepped on…Yo, everybody! HEY!!"

They all fell silent.

"Thank you," Rae said, putting her hands on her hips in a sassy way that made Criss smile. "Everyone, this is Criss Angel. Criss, this is Rae Cascato and Scipio Massimo. They are time-travelers."

A young girl with long braided dark brown hair stepped forward. There was a harlequin-patterned mask resting on her face, but beneath it he could see a pair of purple eyes, flecked with a sea-foam green color. She beamed at him and shook his hand. Beside her was a dark looking boy, dark brown hair and nearly black eyes, who wore a bird mask and a long black coat. He didn't shake Criss' hand, but he nodded accordingly.

"This pair here is Jupiter Rae Titimlen and Gerard Arthur Way. They're vampires—"

"One of us," Jupiter muttered. "We're still working on that." Her skin was possibly one of the most beautiful complexions Criss had ever seen. It was pale, but not a pasty, ill kind. Her dark brown, nearly black, hair came to her shoulder and choppy bangs fell over one amethyst eye that held a certain amount of blue.

"Still working on it?" Rae laughed. "You'd think you were trying to get him pregnant or something, Jupe." Gerard blushed lightly, but he was smiling. Criss recognized him after a moment—his white blonde hair and cheeky smile.

"Hey, you're the lead singer from My Chemical Romance!"

Gerard smiled again. "It's nice to meet you too, Criss," he laughed, a low giggle that sounded awkward and breathy. "We watch your show sometimes—"

"Frank loves you—" Jupiter interrupted. Gerard glared at her, but either she ignored it or didn't notice. Her eyes were amethyst with a blue tinge, and her black choppy hair had a streaks of white though it. "It's a pleasure to meet you, both as a magician and as our leader."

"Don't give him an anxiety attack," Rae smirked, catching Criss' widened eyes.

"I, uh, have listened to your music," Criss stammered. "I'm a fan. B-but, you're not in the band, are you Jupiter…?"

"Only in our dimension," Jupiter explained. "I don't exist here, in this dimension. At least, not as Jupiter Titimlen."

"Oh." _Right, in this dimension, she's Rae Fallen. Way to make yourslef look like an idiot, Criss._

"And this is Rae Decazut," Rae said, gesturing to a girl who smiled, displaying a grin that very wolfish. She was very striking, with an air that demanded respect, and she shook his hand.

"Pleasure," she murmured; her voice was quiet and silky. "I have no Conscience to introduce yet, but soon."

It took Criss a moment to realize she was talking about her partner, and then he realized she was the only one who stood alone. As he faced the last two, he felt Angel practically scratching his way out, throwing himself against the walls of Criss mind like a cat who had a sniff of catnip. He took Angel's reaction as a hint that this was the famous Fallen, who was holding the hand of a boy with large gray eyes.

"Hello, Fallen," Criss said, bowing slightly. Fallen bowed back, clearly impressed. "And Raxe." (A/N: Once again, pronounced 'Rah-zhay.) The gray-eyed boy looked barely any younger than Rae, and he had high cheekbones that made him look rather elfish.

"I thought you said we weren't putting Angel inside of him?" Criss asked in confusion.

"We're not. He's the gatekeeper, remember? We need him to find us a body and a mind." Rae slipped her hand inside of his and breathed out through her nose. "Are your ready?"

"Depends…"

"Criss!"

"You said it doesn't hurt?"

"It's noisy and bright and intense, but no, it doesn't hurt."

"Was that supposed to be comforting?"

"Yes?"

"You suck at comfort, Rae."

"You suck at life!" she shot back.

"Could we stop arguing and get this over and done with?" Fallen interrupted impatiently. Criss was surprised at how her voice sounded so much like Rae's. "I kinda have a place to be—ya know, _fast_—and I'd appreciate it if I could take Angel with me."

"You left without telling Cloud?" Dramlaya asked with an arched eyebrow.

"Well, figured it wouldn't take that long—"

"Did you tell him you were taking his _Gatekeeper_ too?"

Fallen crossed her arms and fixed her lips in a pout. "He won't be missed too much; especially if we could stop bickering long enough to continue the Separation."

"You heard her," Rae said, "Everyone in a circle, link your hands. Dramlaya, can you open up a portal to the gates?"

"Yes'm," Dramlaya said, clapping her hands together and pulling them apart as if she were wrenching two heavy doors open. Her white hair began blowing around her face as if a sudden whirl of wind had kicked up, and her eyes growing stormy and serious.

"Over the river and through the woods, to grandmother's house we go!" Rae sang as the others created a circle around her, Criss, Raxe, and Dramlaya. Criss grew nervous and slipped his hand into Rae's.

_Here we go._

* * *

I hope this chapter inspired your fingers to write some reviews! We are nearing the end of this story, my friends, this will be the first fanfiction I've ever completed! -blows party horn and passes out cookies- 

But on an **_EXTREMELY IMPORTANT NOTE!!_** we have decided to hold an interview [and we is my friend Johnny and I who suggested that I hold a type press-conference thing. Which is coo by me, so... This is your chance to ask me any question you want! THAT'S RIGHT, ANYTHING! At least, anything that relates to Of Fallen Angels or even me as an author. You can ask me whatever. What I eat for breakfast, even. Just nothing mean. I can't handle the mean. :)

So send me the questions either in the reviews or in PMs. I will answer them in a special chapter before the story ends!!

--C.


	20. Question and Answer

Alright, it's interviewing time!! But before we do, I'd like to thank all those who have sent me their reviews--

The Users:  
Open.Sea.Adventure  
CrazyBitch555  
Snape's Opera Rose  
Crystalus Aurora  
Eagleschick  
Kuro Taiyou  
Something Not So Normal  
Waltzing Muse  
AdrianRiddle  
gerardlover123  
MtReload  
Fiona12690  
mrmistoffelees  
shinigami109  
E.L Evergreen

and...the Anonymous  
Miss Anonymous  
Pirate Hooker  
BlueStar  
Jess  
michelle24  
vivien  
SubaruIshtar  
Marie  
norma  
Allie

Really, thank you guys SOOOO much...you make me feel like I have my own Loyal X

* * *

**Q:How did the idea for this story come about?**

A: It was actually a friend of mine, the one mentioned earlier in the story (Zuko/Andrew). We were watching Criss Angel once and he asked me, "Hey, what would happen if Criss Angel had to stay in your house?"

I combined his question into an old story idea I had for one of my originals. Alas, that story has been given up on, but I used my ideas for that and morphed them to work with this story. Rae, Roslyn, Angel, Fallen, and Dramlaya were all the main characters of the original, 'Of Fallen Angels.'

**Q:What DO you eat for breakfast?**

A:M'kay, I wasn't being serious when I suggested that, but since you asked I'll answer. I have this new addiction to slightly undercooked scrambled eggs with a lot of pepper. And if we don't have eggs, I "eat the crap out of blueberry PopTarts."

**Q:Do you listen to any specific music while writing?**

A:I listen to a lot of My Chemical Romance now, actually, because they're music really helps set the mood for this story. I listen to 'The Crow' soundtrack, including other songs form that movie like The Cure's 'Burn' and Nine Inch Nails' 'Dead Souls.' And once in a while I'll play Korn or Criss Angel.

**Q:Angel or Blaine?**

A:Um, who am I writing a fanfiction about? Blaine is too much of a drama queen, anyway. I know every single trick he has, while Criss never ceases to amaze me.

**Q:Why do you love Criss Angel?**

A:(1)He's a brilliant magician.

(2)He's hot.

(3)He seems like an actually decent, down-to-earth guy.

(4)He's definitely the most creative magician out there.

(5)Have you seen those abs?

(6) And did I mention he's HOT?

**Q:Who are these Vagabonds? I swear I've heard of some of them.**

A:Most likely you recognized Gerard Way's name. (He's a cutie.) All of the Vagabonds are characters from other fanfictions I've written. They all kind of crossover at least once.

Scipio Massimo is from a book/movie called 'The Thief Lord" and Rae Cascato is the OC in there. Her last name is Italian for Fallen. Dramlaya teaches those two how to time-travel.

Gerard Way is the lead singer of My Chemical Romance. Yes I wrote a band fiction, and in that story Jupiter Rae Titimlen joins the band. Her last name if Gaelic for Fallen. She's part vampire, and subsequently bites Gerard.

Rae Decazut is the OC in a Law and Order: CI fanfiction I have. At this point in time, Rae hadn't met Goren yet, so he's not present. Still love him though! Decazut is Romanian for Fallen.

**Q:Is it gonna work? What happens if it doesn't work?**

A:Can't answer the first (no spoilers, sorry, should've mentioned that) but if it doesn't work then Criss wouldn't be able to do the lightning-stunt, because the only possible way to do that would be as the true Angel, which means full transforming. And I think people could tell the difference between black-haired rocker Criss and blonde aristocratic Angel. Or Criss could try on his own and die, or something could go terribly wrong during the Separation.

Hahaha, pick your favorite option.

**Q:Are Criss and Rae gonna get together?**

A:Still sort of debating on that, and I think you can sense my indecisiveness when you read. Maybe eventually they will end up together, but it kind of depends on what you guys want.

**Q:What happens next? Sequel?**

A:Most likely. Once again, it's up to you guys and what you want.

* * *

So, new chapter shall be posted soon, until then, I would appreciate more reviews for that last chapter, kay?? I got like, 100 hits and zero reviews. WTF, guys? Lol. Next chapter should be up by September 14. 

We're almost done, guys!!! After these next few chapters, it's goodbye to OFA!!

--Projekt


	21. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen**

Rae's hand tightened around Criss' as the portal began to grow wider above their heads, showing a pair of magnificent doors on top of a stained glass platform. They had to been at least three stories high, a strange color of purple and silver and green. Blue and gold lined the sides, and they were encrusted with red jewels.

"Kingdom Birinthia?!" Criss asked, forced to shout over the howling wind. Rae nodded and motioned for Raxe, who came to her side.

"It's all you, Gatekeeper!" she yelled to him.

Raxe nodded, chin trembling slightly, and Criss could only think of how innocent he seemed. _Was Rae like that before she had Fallen?_

Raxe closed his eyes and began to float in the air, rising up into the portal and hovering in front of the doors. He pressed one of his small hands against them, saying something that Criss couldn't hear over the roaring wind. Then, the doors began to creak open, shuddering and groaning as if they hadn't been opened in ages. Raxe suddenly was whisked inside of the doors, and Criss stepped forward in alarm.

"It's okay!" Rae shouted to him, pulling him back. "He's finding an Incomplete Soul."

Criss felt Angel pacing impaitenly in his mind, and he partially grinned. _'Nervous?'_

'_Yes.'_

'_But you've done this before!'_

'_Doesn't mean I have to like it. I feel vulnerable.'_

'_Why?'_

'_Because if something goes wrong while it is happening there is no way to fix it. In that thirty-second span, Christopher, we are at our weakest. We put all our trust in these eight people, and we trust them not to take advantage of the situation.'_

"Rae…" Criss said slowly, bending in close so she could hear him over the gale.

"Uh, yeah?"

"Are you evil?"

Rae blinked at him, her mouth dropping open slightly. "_Are you stupid?_"

"What?" Criss said indignantly.

"What kind of freakin' question is THAT?"

"Angel brought it up."

Rae laughed and squeezed his hand, a ridiculously wide grin plastered across her face as if she were a Jack-O'-Lantern. "Despite what lies Angel feeds you, hun, I am not evil."

"He said that for thirty seconds while we're being separated, someone could—"

"That's what the circle is for, Criss. They're keeping any unwanted forces away from us while this is happening. Magic is a magnet—it attracts other magic. They're protecting you and Angel until you are safely Embodied, okay?"

"Rae!" Dramlaya shouted suddenly, "Call him out now, I can't hold this open for much longer!" As she said it, her arms were visibly trembling, as if she were holding a tremendous weight.

"Fuck, he's taking too long," Jupiter muttered, and Criss realized this was the first time she had ever cursed so crudely in his presence. Her wings suddenly sprouted from her back, black feathers shimmering. "Fallen, enter Birinthia and find him! Criss and I will keep the doors open! Dramlaya, how much longer can you hold out?"

Dramlaya snarled in anguish.

"Five minutes," Rae said decisively. "And if Raxe hasn't found someone by then, Fallen, grab him and leave anyway, it's not worth being trapped!" Rae called.

"There's no way you and Criss will able to hold the doors open for five minutes!" Fallen yelled, looking hesitant.

"JUST SHUT UP AND_ GO_, FALLEN, YOU'RE WASTING TIME!!"

"FINE!" Fallen screamed back at her, wings appearing as she flew up into the portal and through the doors.

"Criss, c'mon," Rae said, shooting up into the air and flying to the portal. Criss reluctantly let his own wings out, waiting for the pain. He was surprised at the painlessness, letting the flutter momentarily. He followed Rae, who had her hands pressed against one of the doors, her feet planted firmly on the stained glass beneath their feet. He saw that her feet were sliding backwards slightly, and realized in horror that the doors were beginning to close. "Get the other one!" she ordered, and Criss quickly obliged.

Hours seemed to pass—Criss' arms were straining, sweat beading on his forehead…Rae's was shaking as she continuously glanced inside the doors for some sign of Fallen and Raxe…at one point, Gerard stumbled and nearly broke the circle as an outside force of magic tried to push him…Dramlaya was on her knees in exhaust now, and the portal was wavering.

"I cannot hang on—" she cried, and her tired arms finally collapsed. Criss yelped in alarm as the portal began to swirl closed. Rae was quick, grabbing an edge of the vortex and holding on to it. Criss heard a sizzling noise as her hands latched on and he realized that it was _burning her._

"Rae!" he shouted, letting go of his door and stepping forward.

"K-Keep the d-d-door open," Rae stuttered through her pain, tears welling in her eyes. Criss nodded somberly, his heart aching. Rae moved one hand to another edge and spread her arms apart, her entire body making the shape of an X, widening the hole in the process. Her wings beat once, a strong _whoosh _as she fought to keep from releasing her hands to relieve the pain.

There was a loud shout from somewhere inside the doors, and a black, purple, and blue blur shot through the doors and tumbled through Rae's legs, landing outside in safety.

"You can let go!" Fallen shouted up at Criss, cradling Raxe in her arms. Something glowing was balled against his chest. "Close the doors!"

Criss let them go, running towards the portal. Rae was almost screaming with the effort, and her hands were red and raw. "Let go!" Criss shouted at her, grabbing her waist and throwing himself through. They tumbled for moment before coming to a stop in the grass, panting in exhaust. Rae's wings slowly disappeared back into her shoulder blades, and Criss' did the same.

"The forces behind you should weaken now that my magic is gone, but you still cannot let go of the shield, understood?" The eight others, still linked, nodded in understanding.

"Rae," Criss murmured into her dark hair, "Rae, are you okay?"

Rae looked up at him, shock sprawled across her face. Then the pain suddenly kicked in and her eyes watered. "It burns…" she whined softly, resting her forehead on his collarbone and whimpering loudly. "It burns real bad…"

"You'll be okay," Criss said soothingly, hoisting her to her feet by her waist, as to not irritate her hands. "Dramlaya, can you…?"

"I cannot heal what my own magic has done," Dramlaya said soberly, "You will have to heal them the old-fashioned way." Her grey gaze flickered over to Raxe and Fallen, where the tiny Gatekeeper was cradling an Incomplete Soul to his chest.

"Do it fast," Rae whispered to him and Dramlaya, struggling to speak through the pain on her palms and fingers. She looked deeply into Criss' eyes, managing a slight smile. "It only takes a moment, Criss, for Angel to release himself from you and to embrace the Soul. You won't even remember it."

Criss nodded slowly, looking back at Rae before gently lifting her hands up. He kissed the burns tenderly, barely ghosting over her palms and fingertips. Rae's eyes went wide as she watched his lips caress the abrasions, and suddenly, they felt a _whole_ lot better.

"Let's do this, then."

* * *

Woot!!!!! 

R&R, people! Read and review!! We're getting so close to the end...

--Projekt


	22. Chapter 17

**Chapter Seventeen**

Criss' head abruptly began throbbing.

"Shit, Scipio, watch his freakin' head!"

There was an angry reply of Italian.

"No, that wasn't my fault, you totally bashed his skull into the doorframe! Besides, I'm not the one carrying him!!"

More Italian. Criss stirred slightly in his sleep, trying to will himself awake, but unable to find enough energy to lift his eyelids.

"No, shut up, Scipio, you don't know what you're talking about—"

This earned a flurry of quick words, some of which earned soft laughter from another male's voice—

"Gerard, don't encourage him."

Criss felt his head dipping slightly, and as he realized he was being carried, he also realized that whoever was supporting his upper half was lacking.

"I'm not! He's just…it's funny. Jupiter and Frank always talk to each other in Italian when they don't want me to understand, so it's hilarious when I can pick up a few words…Wait, dude, watch it, you're gonna drop him! Scipio, _essere attento!! _Be careful!!_"_

Criss was suddenly up-righted, and he mentally grinned at the image of young fiery Scipio looking embarrassed for being chastised. _Well, now I know who's carrying my head…_

"Whoa, good job, Gerard…"

"Thanks."

"Okay, lay him on this bed, carefully, I don't want to wake him up…"

Criss wanted to tell them that he _was_ indeed awake, he just simply had no energy to speak/twitch to let them know that. The arms that were wrapped beneath his legs were effortlessly replaced with a soft mattress, and the hands cradling his head were substituted for a fluffy pillow.

"That's better…he'll be up by tomorrow morning, ready to go get shocked by a dangerous bolt of lightning. Thanks for carrying him, guys, I would have done it, but my hands…"

"Hey, no problem, Rae."

A quieter phrase of Italian that Criss recognized, "_Prego_."

"Do Jupiter and Decazut feel like sticking around for a coffee, or would you guys rather head back home?"

"_Di nuovo a casa, sono stanco morta."_

"I bet you're tired, Scip. We all are." There was a slight pop, as if someone had kissed. Rae probably kissed his cheek. "You did a wonderful job holding that shield for us. _Grazi_."

"_Prego," _Scipio said again. "_Signore Gerard, Signorina Fallen, che bello in rivedersi."_

"It was nice seeing you too, Scipio," Rae said, and Gerard gave a soft noise of agreement.

"_Addio e buonanotte," _Scipio chuckled, and then his booted footsteps left the room and gradually faded down the hallway.

Gerard gave a small giggle, the same awkward—almost geeky—one Criss had heard at the clearing. "So long and goodnight…" he sang, sounding dreamy. Then he gasped and cursed, "Shit! Me and Jupiter have to be back soon…we have a video shoot…" Gerard's footsteps left, then quickly came back as if he had forgotten something. Criss heard Rae squeak slightly.

"Shit, don't hug me so tight, Gerard, you crushed my hands…"

"Sorry, Rae. We'll visit soon, okay?"

"Okay. Peace out, cub scout."

"Later, hater." This time, the footsteps left, and didn't come back.

* * *

"_I'll I can taste is champagne,  
__When it hits the brain like cocaine,  
__Spinning around and 'round,  
__I can't get up without your help,  
__I've fallen down…"_

A voice singing cheerfully woke Criss' from his deep sleep, and while he tried to stuff a pillow over his head to block out the noise, he could still hear it just as clearly,

"_I'll I can taste is champagne,  
__Another day down the drain,  
__Sleeping around and 'round,  
__I can't wake up without your help,  
__It's over now…"_

Criss gave a shrill sigh of frustration, throwing the pillow off of his head and shuffling his way downstairs, muttering about bad wake up calls. His head felt surprisingly light, but he ignored it and decided it was just from standing up so fast. He could hear the pattering of rain against the roof, and the occasionally rumble of thunder made the hardwood beneath his feet vibrate.

"Rae!" he shouted, making his way into the kitchen, "You're singing woke me up!"

"Well, I appear to be the only rooster in this house," Rae shot back, grinning. "You guys all sleep in until two o'clock in the freakin' afternoon! So…COCKADOODLEDOO!"

"Shut up!" Criss yelled, clamping his hands over his ears and slumping down at the kitchen table. Rae just laughed and continued cooking the large platter of tomato-green onion eggs. Criss watched her carefully, noticing that her hands were wrapped carefully in white gauze. He stood to his feet, walking towards her and jumping up to sit on the counter. "How are your hands?" he asked softly.

She flashed her teeth at him, her wide smile reassuring. "They feel fine…Jupiter Titimlen fixed 'em up proper for me before she left." Not a word was spoken about Criss' act of tenderness in the clearing. Rae continued humming her song as she dumped for eggs onto the wide plate. "How's your head, by the way?"

Criss smirked and rubbed at his hair, "It would be better if Scipio hadn't rammed me into a doorframe."

Rae snorted loudly, promptly dropping her spatula and bending over in laughter, "You were awake?!" she wheezed.

"I was conscious, not awake."

Rae giggled again before sighing, "Ah, that's funny. And I wasn't referring to that though…I meant your _mind_. Feel's a bit empty, I'm guessing?"

Criss was thoughtful for moment, and then he realized that the lightheadedness he had experienced was still there. "Uh, yeah…" He blinked, looking confused, before realization suddenly dawned on him. He screamed abruptly, falling off the counter and landing on the kitchen floor. "ANGEL'S GONE!!!"

Rae laughed again, putting the last of the eggs onto the plate before plopping down beside him. "Well, _that_ didn't shock you in the least."

Criss stuck his tongue out at her. "I completely forgot he'd be…well…_gone._" Criss toyed with a hole in his jeans, his hair falling over his eyes in a quiet, guilty way. "I didn't even say goodbye."

"Aw, did wittle Cwissy get attwached?"

"Shut up," Criss snapped. "When Fallen went back to Kingdom Birinthia, did you say goodbye to her? Huh?"

Rae went silent for a moment, scrutinizing Criss' face before smiling gently, her amethyst eyes sparkling. "I know…I'm sorry. I didn't recognize how quickly you bonded. It took me and Fallen almost _weeks _before we could hold a conversation without giving me a headache."

Criss gave a loud sigh before letting his head drop onto Rae's shoulder. "Time to go commit suicide."

"Ooh, hooray for suicide!!" Rae said sarcastically.

"Why are you two on the floor?" J.D asked sleepily, shuffling into the kitchen with his pink slippers and dark green boxers. He smiled sleepily at them, too lethargic to notice the white gauze wrapping Rae's long fingers. He grabbed a fork from the sink and shoveled a few bites of egg down his esophagus.

J.D + Carbs Energy. Energy + J.D An Awake and Alert J.D.

An Awake and Alert J.D J.D noticing the white gauze wrapped around Rae's fingers.

"WHAT IN THE HELL HAPPENED TO YOUR HANDS!?!"

Criss opened his mouth, ready to palliate for Rae, but she was two steps ahead of him, "I just burnt my hands when I was making eggs. Criss wrapped them up for me."

Criss mentally snorted. _That's the worst excuse I have ever heard—_

"Next time, be more careful, Rae," J.D sighed wearily.

–_what?!_

Rae snorted out loud and sent Criss a look that clearly said 'I-just-read-your-mind-and-your-thoughts-made-me-laugh.' She carefully stood to her feet, lifting herself up on her legs without the use of her hands. "You want some eggs, J.D? They're another one of my specialties—"

Before she could even finish her sentence, however, the loud rumbling of twenty-six feet came from above their heads and stampeded down the stairs. George's eyes were flashing, a stupid grin plastered on his face. "DID I JUST HEAR YOU SAY THAT YOU COOKED ANOTHER SPECIALTY!?"

Rae giggled and elbowed George as he peered eagerly over her shoulder. "I _always_ cook specialties for you, Georgie."

"Whoo-hoo!" George cheered, a fork and knife immediately appearing in his hands. He pointed to the platter of eggs with his silverware. "So then that means _that's _all mine, right!?"

"Hahaha…no."

"Damn."

* * *

"Don't die," Rae intoned as Criss went to close the door of the R.V. 

"Don't worry," Criss replied with a smirk.

It was a simple "good luck" and a quick hug, but the sense of worry passed between her amethyst eyes and his amber ones was unmistakably intense.

Behind Rae, a crack of lightning shot into the lightning rod on the top of the roof, but Rae didn't flinch. She raised her eyebrow knowingly instead, her soft smile painfully somber. J.D yelped at the screaming thunder and demanded that Rae get back into the safety in the house and she was standing outside in the middle of a hurricane, for Christ's sake!

* * *

**Sorry, it's short. I had to upload SOMETHING, I felt horrible. Con-crit is welcome...  
And dudes, guess what!? **

**THIS NEXT CHAPTER IS OUR LAST!!!  
-collective gasp-**

**Yerr!!  
I'm so fucking excited! This will be my first multi-chaptered finished FanFiction!!**

**--Projekt**


	23. Fan Art

Hey, Loyals! Projekt here, and I have an announcement to make!!

A few days ago, a reader sent me a GORGEOUS fan-art for **Of Fallen Angels.** I was so grateful I nearly cried, and it was on of the most sentimentally touching gifts I had ever received. It was a simple picture of silver-winged Criss and ebony-winged Rae, but I thought it was amazing. Unfortunately, I'm a twit when it comes to computers and shit, so I couldn't't find a way to get the file on here for you all to see.

However, it struck a good idea in me. Of course, our next chapter will be the end, but I realize that once **OFA** is complete, it'll slip down the line to be forgotten. And who knows? Maybe another Criss Angel fan would have wanted to read it. I dunno. But I figure that AFTER the actual **OFA** is complete, I could keep it from disappearing by putting your own fan-art on it!!

I'd love to see all of it, if Sarah's drawing is any clue to what incredible artists you all are. It could be a picture of any character, be it Criss, Rae, Dramlaya, J.D, or Costa. I think it's a good way to keep **Of Fallen Angels** interactive. After all, this story would have gone nowhere without your loyalty!

And so now, I encourage you guys to send me your fan-art. You'd have your own chapter dedicated to your picture, and all credit would be exclusively yours.

If you're interested at all, simply send me a PM with your fan-art inclosed. (I would prefer to have a link to an art website such as LiveJournal, DeviantArt, or Photobucket. I'm still attempting to figure how to upload pictures themselves.)

Thanks for all your encouragement, Loyals! The FINAL CHAPTER is almost here!!

Yours Always,  
Projekt.


	24. Chapter 18, The End

Everyone celebrate, we made it!!!

**

* * *

**

**Final Chapter**

Rae drank ten cups of coffee, sang through Green Day's "American Idiot" album five times, and paced only-God-knows-how-many laps around her living room when the front door finally opened. Rae shrieked in delight and ran at top speed to the front of her house, immediately throwing herself into the arms of whoever was misfortunate enough to walk through the door first. J.D stumbled backwards, knocking into Criss, who fell on Costa, who flew into Luke, who tried to catch him but staggered back onto Leif, who grabbed frantically at George, until finally everyone was a pile of elbows and knees.

Except, however, for the Great Thompsoni, who stepped haughtily over them, loudly declaring that they were all idiots.

"So…I see Criss made it out alive," Rae giggled, looking up at all of them.

"And you certainly were excited about it," Leif muttered as they all gingerly untangled from one another, careful not to kick anyone's eye, or worse, their 'family jewels.'

Rae harrumphed and sprang to her feet, putting her hands on her hips and arching her eyebrow. "And how come we all are—" she glanced at her imaginary 'watch,' "—TWO HOURS LATE!? And, better yet, why didn't you call me!? I thought Criss had been electrocuted and taken to the hospital and no one had bothered to cal—"

"Rae!" Criss interrupted, grabbing her shoulders and grinning. "I'm alive, okay?! Can you just be happy like a normal person…"

"…normal people don't have their loved ones gallivanting off to get shot by lightning…" Rae intoned sourly.

"…and congratulate me with a nice, cold beer?"

Rae promptly shut her mouth, falling silent for a moment before her lips split into a large smile. "You wanna a congratulatory beer?"

Criss nodded slowly, wary of Rae's maniacal smile.

"EVERYONE BACK IN THE R.V!" she shouted gleefully, grabbing the keys out of J.D's hand and skipping over their bodies, hopping eagerly into the front seat. "J.D, how do I start this bucket of bolts?"

"Get outta there, you little minx, you're gonna break something…I swear to Jesus, girl if you don't get outta there by the count of five…one…two…ah, thank you."

"Where are we headed to, Rae?"

Rae stuck her finger in the air and then pointed it in front of her, throwing her head and shouting, "TO THE HURRICANE PARTY!!!!!"

Criss grinned, "Rock on, Garth."

The gang arrived at Zuko's house a little while later, Rae barging in arrogantly, demanding a beer and some "kick-ass hurricane jams." There was a large throng of people crammed inside, and a drunken boy's voice slurred, "'ou 'eard 'er!" A rocking loud song began blasting through the house, shaking the very stilts it teetered upon, adding to the howling winds outside.

Beers were thrust into the gang's hands and even a few joints were passed around. Criss politely declined (which, in his drunken state, was "Geh da fuckin' weed away from meh, maaaannn…") but Rae giggled and nudged him, motioning to J.D, who was trying to be discreet as he took a few drags.

It was a mass of sweaty, gyrating bodies and pounding bass and intoxicated shouts of joy, but it certainly was a damn good party. The roaring of the storm could barely be heard over the music. At one point, a scream of lightning was audible and the power abruptly went, but the party certainly didn't stop until Zuko shouted, "Y'all look like stupid fucks dancin' aroun' ta no music, so geddie 'ell outta my 'ouse!"

A few people groaned in protest and one shouted, "It'sa category five 'urricane out dare!"

"Do I look like I care? Geddie fuck outta my 'ouse!" He pointed a finger at Criss (which, in HIS drunken state, was a few feet left of where Criss was actually standing) and mumbled, "'Cept for Fallen and Angel and their gang. Hahaha, Fallen and Angel! You guys are Fallen Angels! You're phenomenal! You're phenomenons! Or phenomena? Phenomeni? I don' fuckin' know…Hahaha…" Zuko giggled and fell off his couch, passing out on the floor. People gave him affectionate kicks in the leg as they walked out the door.

"Even when he's drunk, he's brilliant," Rae whispered to Criss, grabbing at his hand excitedly.

"Huh?" Criss garbled, raising his eyebrow.

"Dramlaya used to call us that; me and Roslyn and Fallen and Angel. I told you, remember? _Genshou-jishou_," she recited clearly. "She couldn't find out the English translation. It's 'Phenomenon.' That's what we're called…we're 'Phenomena.'"

"Sweeeeeeeet," Criss said giddily, lips drawing up in a lazy smile, and then he promptly passed out on her shoulder.

* * *

Rae leaned against the wall in the living room with one foot up on it, eyes closed as she listened to her IPod. The crew passed back and forth in front of her, carrying suitcases and equipment out to the vans and the R.V. Her lips were fixed in a displeased pout, ignoring them all as they grumbled, "Stop your sulking, we'd have to leave at one point, ya know!" 

Rae lazily lifted a headphone out of her ear, amethyst eyes glaring at them. "You don't HAVE to leave…You have options, you know…"

"You can't afford our stomachs anymore, Rae," George laughed, rubbing his tummy as if to prove his point. "As much as I wish you could…"

"I could!" Rae argued, ripping both headphones out angrily. "C'mon, guys, I'll be lonely without you! I'm so used to cooking for fifteen hungry men, I'm gonna overcook, and then I'll be fat, and then no one will want to be with me 'cause 'Ew, she's so colossal!' and I'll start singing, '_Fat and alone, you're out on your own! Queen of blubber, sitting on your throne…"_

Banachek rolled his eyes as he passed by with two heavy duffel bags. "Rae, it is not gonna be like that…"

"_Things aren't getting any better, 'cause you're fat and alone! And you've stretched out all your sweaters, 'cause you're fat and alone!" _Rae warbled, clamping her hands over her ears to drown out Banachek. "_Things aren't getting any brighter, 'cause you're fat and alone! You're not getting any lighter…"_

"Rae, don't be stupi—"

"_FAT AND ALO-ONE!!"_

"Rae!" Criss yelled finally, "Will you just shut up already!?"

Rae sent a swift kick to his knee as he passed by with his suitcase. "Well, I'm glad that YOU'LL be leaving, you stupid fuck."

Criss sneered and pushed his face up in hers, eyes dancing mischievously. "You just keep telling yourself that, eh?"

Rae shoved his chest. "Get away from me, freak."

"I've never seen a more affectionate relationship," J.D muttered to Dave as they heaved more bags through the door. Right on cue, the two young magicians began quarrelling loudly, name-calling childishly and threatening to injure each other in strange ways with toothbrushes. Eventually, it evolved into things like, "Yeah? Well, yo momma is SO fat…" and "Yeah, well, when you were a baby, you hit your head on the ceiling fan…"

An hour later, Rae's strong denial about their departure had turned into pure sorrow, and tears were gushing out of her eyes as she began hugging each of them as they loaded into the vans. Unabashedly, they got teary as well; squeezing her into her breath left her in a squeak.

"You're an amazing magician, Rae," Dave said. "I still think that you should come back to Vegas with us. You could seriously work as a magician, and let me tell you, it pays well…"

"It's a wondrous offer, but really, I need to stay here. I just wanna finish up high school with everyone else my age." Rae gave him a small smile, her eyes still shining sadly. "I'll…I'll think about it."

"Good," Dave said, pecking her cheek. "We'll miss you, Rae."

"I'll miss you guys too…" She was scooped into George's arms, who promised her that when she visited, _he _would cook for _her_.

They all continued their goodbyes, until finally everyone but Criss was left to bid farewell. He pawed at the ground sheepishly with the toe of his scruffy boot, his black bangs falling over his amber eyes. He glanced up at her from underneath them, mouth hanging open in an awkward, "Uhhh…"

Rae giggled. "Someone's shy all of a sudden."

Criss frowned at her and flicked his hair back, scrunching his nose. "Well, the rest of those idiots kinda said everything I wanted to say." _Except for one thing…_

"You wanna challenge me to a DDRMax game, too?"

"No, not what Leif said!" Criss snapped, punching her arm lightly. "I just, I…uh…"

Inside the vans, the tinted windows hid the fifteen faces that were pressed against them, watching the pair eagerly. "I swear to God, if he doesn't fucking KISS her, he is WALKING back to Las Vegas…"

"I have ten bucks that Rae kisses him first!"

Criss floundered pathetically, finally mumbling, "I'm gonna miss you, Rae."

Rae grinned and threw her arms around his neck, silently crying into his neck as she murmured, "I'm gonna miss you too, baby."

Criss smiled her tenderness and wrapped his arms around her waist, clutching her tightly. His conscious began screaming at him loudly, _kiss her kiss her kiss her!!_

Rae suddenly let him go, holding him at arms length and scrutinizing his face. "Christopher Sarantakos Angel, if I hear ANYTHING about any injuries that could have been PREVENTED with TRAINING, then I swear to Power I will fly out there and PERSONALLY KICK. YOUR. ASS. You got that?"

Criss mockingly brought his hand to his forehead in a salute, smirking at her stupidly. "Yessum!"

Rae chuckled and hugged him one last time before he opened the door to the R.V, leaning down and kissing her hand.

"Until we meet again," he said in a thick, overdramatic European accent. Rae laughed and held his gaze until the door shut and the R.V began backing out of the driveway. She waved to each van as she walked back inside to her newly abandoned, lonesome house.

* * *

If Criss was capable of duplicating himself, he'd make another Criss Angel so that he could fucking kick his own sorry ass for not going to back and kissing Rae as hard and as long as possible. 

"Shit," he whispered to himself.

"What was that, Crissy?" J.D called from the front of the R.V.

_It's now or never, Criss._

"We have to turn around," Criss declared, his foot beginning to bounce impatiently.

J.D shot him a look. "Why!?"

Criss pretended to pat his pockets. "I left my cell phone in the kitchen," he lied.

J.D sighed and pulled the R.V over. "Fine, but there's no way I'm attempting to turn this vehicle around in this narrow of a street…" The elder Sarantakos didn't even finish when his brother was already jumping out the door.

Rae groaned as the doorbell rang, wiping the tears from her cheeks as she stood to answer whom she thought was a nosy neighbor who had seen the R.V and the vans leave. The ringing came persistently, and Rae grumbled, "I'm coming, I'm coming, you impatient sons-of-bitches…I should decapitate you all, you lousy, stupid…_CRISS!?"_

Criss stood at the door, his hair mussed and his chest heaving. Before Rae had a chance to react, he had her pressed against the wall, kissing her with a ferocity that was almost frightening. A blast of euphoria suddenly flooded his nervous system, and his brain seemed to explode with a million emotions that weren't his own but felt incredible and then her lips begin moving against his and fragments of fragments of thoughts are racing across his mind:

_--miss you--_

_--relief—_

_--kiss like coffee-- _

_--been waiting-- _

_--under the stars__--_

_--champagne--_

…and then they were clawing at each other, stroking each other's hair and moaning and it was as if everything they had bottled up was being released in one flurry of lips and tongues and their heads were pounding but it felt right, and all at once their thoughts were mashing together…

_--home--_

_--don't go, please--_

_--away, I'm sorry--_

_--lonely--_

_--Vegas, waiting--_

_--no, kiss me harder--_

…and then Criss' chest began to hurt and he couldn't tell if it was because of lack of oxygen or the multitude of emotions swirling in his head, but something wet was on his cheek and Rae was crying, and please Rae, don't cry, please…

Criss drew back, slowly releasing Rae's bottom lip and opening his eyes. She gave a small whimper and tried to pull him back again, but he simply brushed his knuckles against her cheek, smiling softly. "Rae, why are you…?"

"I don't want anyone to go," she whispered, tear-filled eyes hesitantly meeting his. "Please, I'll miss you too much, just stay here…"

"I can't, Rae," he sighed, moving her hair out of her eyes. "I wish I could, but I need to be in Las Vegas."

Rae took a shuddering breath and shook her head, laughing bitterly. "Yeah…yeah, I know. I was just being stupid."

"No you weren't. I wish I could be with you, Rae. I wished you'd come with us."

"I can't Criss. Not until I graduate."

Criss squeezed her hand and clunked their foreheads together clumsily. Rae giggled at the cute display of affection. "And how long is that?"

Rae gave a tiny, hiccupping laugh. "Uhhhh…like, ten months."

Criss' face distorted in pain and he muttered, "Great."

Rae rubbed her nose against his, this time coaxing a grin out of the other magician. "Just kiss me again, stupid."

Criss closed his eyes and leaned in again, meeting her lips at a much gentler pace, without the painful flurry of thoughts and emotions. He could taste her tongue and her teeth and the roof of her mouth, and it sent a wonderfully warm buzz into his entire being so that when he pulled away again, he could still feel it on his lips when he licked them.

Rae opened her eyes slowly, her eyelashes fluttering like butterfly wings. "You taste like champagne," Criss said distantly. Rae gave him a quizzical look, her brow furrowing deeper when Criss suddenly lifted his necklace off, slipping it over her head. His trademark A and backward C rested on her chest. "I'll remember that."

He let her hand drop from his, walking out the door in a bit of a daze. Before he closed it, he looked back at her, pointing to the necklace on her breast. "I'll be expecting that back in ten months."

Rae just smiled and nodded slightly, gingerly feeling her lips with the tips of her fingers as the door shut.

--

J.D turned to stare knowingly at Criss as he clambered back aboard the R.V, the faint beam still on his face. "Did you get your cell phone, Criss?" he asked dryly, pointing to the couch where a cell phone was resting on top of a pillow. Criss blinked at him before nodding.

"Yeah, I got it." He quickly shoved the phone into his jeans, looking shamefaced. J.D just winked at his now missing necklace and laughed, turning the engine over and continuing to the airport. Criss just barely managed to Touch his brother's mind when he heard,

"_You can't hide anything from your big bro, Crissy."_

Criss smirked and thought to himself, _I'm actually _phenomenal _at it, J.D._

J.D banged his palms against the wheel excitedly. "Next stop, Las Vegas!"

Criss just rolled his eyes and sang softly to himself:

"_I'll I can taste is champagne,  
When it hits the brain like cocaine,  
Spinning around and 'round,  
I can't get up without your help,  
I've fallen down…"_

_-_fin-

_

* * *

_

HOLY SHIT I'M SO EXCITED YOU HAVE NO IDEA.

THAT DOESN'T EVEN JUSTIFY ONE-MILLIONTH OF HOW EXCITED I AM. I BETTER GET REVIEWS FROM ALL OF YOU OR I'M GONNA SEND ANGEL AFTER YOU ALL. MUAHAHAHA, THAT'S THE LAST THING YOU WANT, HE'S MERCILESS.

Ecstatic as fuck,  
Projekt.

(Go review now! Shoo-shoo! Cin cin! Er...kampai! Now GO!!)


	25. Epilogue? Or just a trick?

**Hahahahaha...**

I'm _baaaaaaaacccckkkkkk..._


	26. Author's Note: The Forum

**Hey, guys, I've created a forum in the Misc. TV Shows category called Heaven and Hell: A CrissAngelRaeFallen Forum! So go in there, start new topics, talk with each other, interact, give me ideas, yadda-yadda...it's about time we got this ball rolling again!**


	27. SEQUEL ALERT!

Hey guys! I'm back with a vengeance, and with me I brought part II of the Phenomenon Series, named "Raising Hell." (clever, eh?)

So, instead of whining to me, go off and read it! And please, please, PLEASE actually review and tell me if it was awful or great, because I'm always in need of a good kick in the ass.

And I know I promised this way back at Christmas and that was over six months ago. You should've figured out I never keep my promises anyway, save for one. Better late than never, right?

Heh.

Innyhoo, go off, have fun, while I sit here and continue to slave away simply to make you happy.

~C.


End file.
